To Bleed or Not to Bleed

Females, imagine a life of no cramps, bloating, or mood swings, being able to live freely and not having to worry about if it is that time of the month and having to get tampons or pads. Imagine a life where you could swim whenever you want, do as strenuous of activities as you wanted, or even not wear underwear. Fantasy, right? Wrong! With the invention of the new drugs Anya and Seasonale, all this is possible and more. Although, these drugs have yet to be fully approved for sale, they have stirred up some very controversial issues.

Today, menstruation is seen as messy, unneeded, and in most cases unwanted. It involves unnecessary blood lose and iron depletion, along with PMS. The new drug Anya would put an end to all of this. Anya is the first low-dose birth control pill where it is taken 365 days a year without placebos. This provides a steady stream of hormones, making PMS a thing of the past; this drug would eliminate periods completely, properly called menstrual suppression. The similar drug, Seasonale, does not completely end periods, but instead gives you four a year. Seasonale is approved in the U.S, but is still pending a decision from Canada. This drug is taken for 84 days consecutively, followed by seven days of placebo pills, causing periods. Woman using hormonal contraception is also called withdrawal bleeding. Instead of a natural menstrual cycle controlled by the body's own hormonal fluctuations, withdrawal bleeding is the body's reaction to the end of the hormone dose that the contraceptive has been providing. Whether a women bleeds monthly or quarterly, a woman who takes either traditional or extended cycle contraceptive pills, like Seasonale, is not having a natural period. Because with Seasonale a woman has four periods a year, it is very similar to other birth controls. Although with Seasonale, women take more hormone pills during a year, causing a diminutive increase in risks. Studies have shown that these drugs have a 98 percent prevention against pregnancies. Such drugs may sound like a dream come true for some girls, but critics of these drugs worry about long-term consequences. Thus far, research has been conducted over a two-year span. Kathleen O'Grady, director of communication for Canadian Women's Health Network, writes, "No long-term studies have been conducted on the impact that menstrual suppression may have on fertility. No long-term studies have been conducted on the ways in which menstrual suppression may affect the development (reproductive and otherwise) of young women. No long-term studies have been conducted on the effects of exposing women to hormones over a longer period of time than regular contraceptive pills, and in some methods, in (small, but significantly) higher doses. Seasonale, for example, exposes women to nine more weeks of estrogen and progestin every year than a regular birth control regimen," Detractors worry that if Anya and Seasonale are put on the market too soon, it might end up like hormone replacement therapy. When hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was announced to the public, it was considered the healthiest thing to do when women were entering menopause. This drug was supplementing women's estrogen, as it declined during the aging years. HRT was said to improve heart health, compensate depression, enhance sex drive, and even prevent diseases such as Osteoporosis and Alzheimer's. It was believed that HRT would improve the overall quality of life. Doctors exposed tens of millions of women in North America alone to hormone replacement therapy, only to later find out that no extensive tests were taken on the long-term effects and that it increases the risk of strokes, heart attacks blood clots, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer. HRT is no longer recommended as a treatment. Critics say that Anya and Seasonale could end up like hormone replacement therapy without extensive long-term research.

Research today shows that women are having numerous periods now more then they did one hundred years ago. Girls in the past started menstruation at approximately sixteen, while today, girls begin around ten or eleven. In addition, throughout history females would often get pregnant ten or eleven times, while today's women wait longer to have children and have fewer pregnancies. Therefore, 19th-century women had fewer then 50 period in their lives, whereas modern women have over 400! To have so many menstrual cycles is said to be unnatural and unnecessary. It is a hazard to women's emotional and physical well-being. Recent investigation has shown that there are health benefits to Anya. It can reduce the risks of uterine and ovarian cancer, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids. Not only health wise, but pills like Anya and Seasonale would save women on hundreds of dollars spent each year on hygiene products. So far, the only drawback is that for the first six months, women experience some bleeding and spotting. "But, the upside is potentially enormous," says Dr. Leslie Miller, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington. Miller said, "Imagine to have a freedom to swimming anytime. You can wear a skirt without underwear. You can have sex without worrying about blood on the sheets. You never get anything stained. Everyday your hormones are the same. Your breasts are never tender; you do not feel ovulatory pains. It's