Lybrel, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ new birth control pill that eliminates women’s periods, is now on the market. Unlike traditional oral contraceptives, which include a week of placebo pills at the end of the cycle to bring on menstruation, Lybrel has no placebos, and women on the pill do not menstruate.
While many women are wary of Lybrel, fearing that it takes away a key sign of health, fertility, and womanhood among females, others welcome the convenience and freedom from menstruation’s side effects that the drug offers.
Doctors are also divided on the issue. Some maintain that Lybrel is safe, and point out that traditional birth control pills have been prescribed without the placebos to halt menstruation in women with painful periods, or who wanted to avoid menstruation during a special occasion, for years.
Further, they say women must traditionally menstruate to shed the thick lining of the uterus that builds up during the cycle. Women on oral contraceptives only build a thin lining and, therefore, they may not need to menstruate.
Women are also designed to stop menstruating during pregnancy and nursing, however in today’s culture, with increasing numbers of women forgoing motherhood for other pursuits, they often continue menstruating monthly.
This may be “too many periods,” according to one doctor.
However, other experts point to potential risks of long-term use, as Lybrel was only studied for one year. There are also social implications. Eliminating menstruation, according to many sociologists and anthropologists, tells young women that there’s something wrong or shameful about the natural menstrual cycle, and therefore with the female body.
Houston Chronicle July 31, 2007