The link between the pope and contraceptive pills

Millions of women around the world use the combined hormonal contraceptive pill that has been around for six decades. The usual recommended method is a 21-day pill cycle followed by a 7-day break when the woman is bleeding.

Oral contraceptive pill. Image Credit: Areeya Ann / Shutterstock

This seven-day break system for a bleeding woman is advocated by the Vatican who wanted a normal menstrual cycle every month for these women. Despite this, Pope Paul VI had banned the use of artificial contraception.

The pill convention developed in the 1950s by Carl Djerbadi (father of the pill) and John Rock, a Catholic gynecologist, however remained and women still use the 21-day pill cycle followed by a break from seven days, perceiving it as a "break period." During this "false" period, women receive placebo pills or sugar pills to help them keep track of the pills they take and at maintain regularity.

The researchers said the 21-day pill cycle was more related to an aesthetic need for bleeding than a period rather than a scientific necessity. This seven-day interruption of the pill may increase the risk of unplanned pregnancies, experts say. They explain that the administration of hormones helps to maintain high levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body, which helps to turn off ovulation or to release the egg or the ovarian egg at each cycle. The seven-day break can allow estrogen levels to drop and turn on ovulation. If the pills are not resumed on day 9 of the break, the ovary would release an egg (ovulation) that could be fertilized by a sperm resulting in pregnancy.

According to experts, if a woman forgets to take a pill during the cycle, she runs a risk of ovulation due to a decline in estrogen levels. A voluntary break of seven days each cycle can therefore lower hormone levels to levels such that ovulation can occur if other pills are forgotten. They suggest that the pill-free interval should be reduced to four days per cycle and should be taken fewer times a year. This would reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancies.

These new guidelines come from the School of Sexual and Reproductive Health (FSRH). At the present time, clinicians therefore recommend prolonged or continuous treatment regimens. This involves taking three or more packets of pills without a break, followed by a pill-free interval of one week (7 days) or a shortened four-day period. The absence of breaks reduces the risk of stimulation of the lining of the uterus, leading to endometrial hyperplasia, and also prevents bleeding and "sudden bleeding" that can occur at any point in the cycle if the lining of the uterus uterus develops.

Many women, however, support a seven-day pills break because of the misconception that "dirty menstrual blood" must be shed monthly to "cleanse" the body. This comes from misconceptions about menstruation as well as the functioning of hormonal contraceptives. Many hormonal contraceptives cause spotting or minimal bleeding during the seven-day break.

Diana Mansour, Vice President of Clinical Quality at FSRH, said in a statement: "The guidelines suggest that by taking fewer intervals without hormones – or reducing them to four days – it is possible that women reduce the risk of getting pregnant hormonal contraception. "

Taking a "tri-cycle" regimen with 30 micrograms (standard dose) or 20 micrograms (lower dose) of estrogen before a menstrual break can also reduce the undesirable effects of withdrawal of the pills. For example, migraines are common among high-risk women who take the seven-day break with the pill at each cycle. A continuous diet helps to reduce these side effects.

Using pills without interruption at the present time is "unlicensed". This means that the prescriber becomes responsible for the risks badociated with such use and that the manufacturer is not legally responsible for the side effects caused by the continuous increase in hormone levels. New therapeutic regimens are being prepared for continuous use.