What "new" women's health tool has been around for almost 50 years?

Menstrual management. Few women know that the Pill was first submitted for approval to the FDA in 1957, as a menstrual management drug (to treat menstrual disorders). Talk about a "best kept secret"!

How many reproductive-age women are there in the United States?

There are over 51 million women between the ages of 15 to 44 years old.

What does the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have to say about the Pill's safety?

Over the years, more studies have been done on the pill to look for serious side effects than have been done on any other medicine in history, according to the FDA.

What are the 4 original reasons for a monthly fake period (withdrawal bleeding), the "designer" add-on to the Pill?

A Puritanical politician, a Catholic Pope, doctors who didn't wash their hands, and a lot of dead rabbits.

Why doesn't Seasonale have any effect on your menstrual period?

You no longer have a menstrual period when you use Seasonale (or any Pill brand for that matter). This is normal and it's the way the Pill works. Seasonale doesn't reduce the number of yearly menstrual periods from 13 down to 4. It shifts the frequency of the fake period, from monthly to once every three months. Menstrual suppression and suppressing the fake period are not one and the same thing.

When is the absence of menstruation normal?

While being pregnant, breastfeeding, or using hormonal birth control, like the Pill. With Pill use there is an absence of menstruation when menstruation shouldn't occur. This is normal, and there's no hormone deficiency. In contrast, with over-training or excessive dieting and exercise there is an absence of menstruation when menstruation should occur. This is abnormal, and it's also accompanied by hormone deficiency.

How do men really feel about women using menstrual management to control whether they have a period?

"Great, go for it!", according to the majority of men taking part in an online survey. About 20% didn't know what their reaction would be, and fewer than 10% either didn't care enough to have a reaction, or didn't like the idea.

Additional information, selected topics

Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Trial: Women's Health Initiative (WHI) ... page 81 (corresponding book page)

Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Basics

HRT Studies Explained

Comments on WHI from ACOG and ARHP

ACOG on WHI's Estrogen-Only Arm

The Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study Follow-up (HERS II)

VonWillebrand's Disease ... page 92

The Newest Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) from the National Academies ... page 118

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) ... page 142

Full-Dose Progestin-Only Pills (POPs) ... page 179

Using Menstrual Management and Birth Control at the Same Time ... coming soon ... page 228