How to Stop Your Period with Birth Control | Birth Control

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Learn how to stop your period with birth control in this Howcast video.

You call your doctor and you say, "Doc, I'm going on vacation with my boyfriend. How do I prevent my period from coming? I'm in that phase of my cycle where if I take my placebo pills, I'm going to get my period." Well, this is one of my favorite questions to answer because it gives the patient the power of deciding when or when not to have her period. And when you're on birth control pills, you have that option.

When you're taking a conventional birth control pill, one that has 21 days of hormones and 1 week without hormones, what you can do is take the pills continuously. What that means is that you take 21 active pills, and instead of taking the week of placebo pills, throw the pill pack away and start a new pack of pills. When you do that, you can skip your periods and not cause any harm to your body. It does not affect the contraceptive effectiveness of the pills, and it does absolutely no harm to your body.

If you are considering skipping your periods with the birth control pills and you are uncertain of how to do it, call your doctor or your nurse practitioner. We are happy to provide that information for you to make your life easier, and there is nothing wrong with making your life easier when you're on birth control pills.