So, Does Birth Control Stop Your Period?

When it comes to stopping your period, pregnancy and menopause are two pretty surefire ways to make it happen. But if growing a human is not in your immediate future or you’re decades away from hot flashes and mood swings, you might be wondering: Does birth control stop your period?

Well, we have some good and not-so-good news for you. The good news is some forms of birth control, like the hormonal IUD, combo pill, shot, vaginal ring, or implant, might be able to decrease or even stop your period. The less good news is that nothing is ever guaranteed, especially when it comes to reproductive health.

Yes, some birth control methods are more likely to give you a nonexistent or barely-there period over time, but regardless of the birth control type, some people will continue to get their period, no matter what.

“Although there is no one form of hormonal contraception that uniformly stops all uterine bleeding for all people, there are several forms of contraception that often cause secondary amenorrhea, when you typically get a monthly period and then stop getting it for at least three months,” Allison Walsh, MD, FACOG, an ob-gyn at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, tells SELF.

Is it safe to skip your period? | How does birth control work to stop your period? | How long does it take for birth control to stop your period? | Does starting on birth control during your period stop it immediately? | Will taking two pills stop your period? | When will you get your period after stopping birth control?| Can birth control regulate your period?

The short answer is, yes, you can safely skip your period by either ditching the placebo week and going directly to a new pack of pills, ring, or patch. Some people may naturally just stop getting their period over time while using certain forms of birth control.

The long answer, however, is a bit more involved. First, the period you get on hormonal birth control is not even really your period, it’s actually withdrawal bleeding, according to the Mayo Clinic. During a menstrual cycle without hormonal birth control, your endometrial lining thickens in anticipation of an embryo implanting. If pregnancy does not occur, your body sheds this lining, and you get your period. Since hormonal birth control works by suppressing ovulation (and they also cause the uterine lining to thin), there’s nothing extra to shed if you don’t become pregnant. The bleeding is simply your body’s response to stopping the hormones.

If your period lessens or goes away completely while taking hormonal birth control, it’s nothing to worry about. As we mentioned, if you use a combination pill, patch, or ring, skipping the placebo week and moving right to the next month is generally safe. However, it can cause the endometrial lining to become thinner over time, leading to spotting or breakthrough bleeding. Plus, there’s the minor issue of never really knowing if you’re pregnant or not, which can wreak havoc on your mental health if you’re taking birth control for pregnancy prevention (rather than only for managing a period) and worry a lot. To help put your mind at ease, and ensure you’re going about this the right way, talk with your doctor before making any changes. They can help you decide if delaying menstruation is the best option for you.

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There are tons of options for preventing pregnancy, but not all types of birth control can reduce or delay a period. For the highest likelihood of sending your monthly visitor packing, you’ll need to use a hormonal birth control method. Some birth control types are progestin-only, while others contain both progestin and estrogen.

So, which types of birth control will definitely stop your period? Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Some people will continue to get a regular period, while others will experience a decrease in flow and duration or see it disappear entirely—as long as they are on birth control. That said, James Gohar, MD, an ob-gyn at Mount Sinai West and New York-Presbyterian Hospital and clinical instructor at Weill Cornell School of Medicine, tells SELF that combination birth control (like the pill, ring, or patch), hormonal IUDs, and injections have the highest potential to stop your period altogether, but this is not a guarantee. “The majority of people will still get a period, but significantly shorter and lighter,” he explains.

Let’s walk through how each type of hormonal birth control works, and talk about their period-poofing potential:

Combination hormonal birth control pills use estrogen and progestin to prevent pregnancy. The progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone) thickens your cervical mucus (good luck to sperm trying to get through that), thins out your uterine lining, and suppresses ovulation. Estrogen helps to control breakthrough bleeding while also working to suppress ovulation.

Alyssa Dweck, MD, FACOG, a board-certified gynecologist in New York at Northwell Health and a sexual and reproductive health expert for INTIMINA, tells SELF that most people who take the combination birth control pill will have a lighter and shorter period, but still have a regular flow. People who take the progestin-only pill may also notice their periods are lighter or non-existent (but breakthrough bleeding can still occur). As we mentioned earlier, you can also skip the placebo week for combination pills and go right to a new pack. In that case, your period may stop until you take the placebo-week pills again (though you may experience breakthrough bleeding).

There are also multiple combination birth control pills that are designed to delay your period for an extended period of time. With some, you take active pills for 84 days, followed by a week of placebo or very low-dose estrogen. If you do the math, that works out to be a period about once every three months. The low-dose-estrogen week can reduce the effects of bloating, bleeding, and other unpleasant side effects that typically occur with a completely hormone-free week, according to the Mayo Clinic. One other pill that’s available is meant to be taken continuously for a year, with no hormone-free breaks.

Although some people will lose their flow entirely on the pill (without having to skip the placebo week), Dr. Dweck says this is not a hard-and-fast rule. Generally speaking, higher doses of hormones are more likely to stop your period, per the Mayo Clinic.

Hormonal IUDs are little T-shaped devices that are inserted into the uterus. There are currently four approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), (Mirena, Skyla, Liletta, and Kyleena) in addition to one non-hormonal IUD (Paragard). They all contain progestin, which works locally to thicken cervical mucus and reduce the lining of your uterus, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Some of them have a bit more progestin, but that doesn’t affect how well they prevent pregnancy, only how long they remain effective, according to Planned Parenthood.

Hormonal IUDs may cause loss of flow because they sometimes suppress ovulation, but that’s not a sure thing. More commonly, they thin the uterine lining to the point where your period straight up vanishes. But Dr. Dweck says this is typically preceded by three to six months of irregular bleeding. Since the FDA has approved hormonal IUDs for between three and five years of use (the exact number depends on the type), that can mean whole years in which you’re not getting a period (if you’re one of the lucky ones).

While it might seem obvious, it’s important to point out that only hormonal forms of birth control have the potential to stop your period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).¹ A non-hormonal method like the copper IUD does nothing to prevent or delay a period. In fact, it’s notorious for making bleeding worse in the short-term, and potentially the long-term as well.

This birth control method is pretty similar to an IUD in that it secretes progestin. There are a few major differences, though. The implant (Nexplanon) is a matchstick-size rod that gets placed into your upper arm, according to the Mayo Clinic.

As with hormonal IUDs, the progestin in this contraceptive works to thicken your cervical mucus, cut back on your uterine lining, and possibly suppress ovulation. As a byproduct of the progestin’s effect on your uterine lining, your period might diminish or disappear. According to the FDA, the bleeding pattern you experience during the first three months of using the implant is fairly predictive of your future bleeding pattern.²

But if you’re eager to join the “no period at all” group ASAP, you may need to add more tools to your treatment plan. According to a review published in the Open Access Journal of Contraception, taking a short course of NSAIDs for five to seven days during bleeding may reduce the amount and duration in people with the implant.³ But this is definitely a conversation to have with your doctor.

You can keep the implant in your body for up to three years, so that could equal three blissful years without your monthly visitor.

The shot (Depo-Provera) is a form of progestin delivered via injection (usually in your arm or butt) every three months. It works to suppress ovulation and thicken your cervical mucus to keep sperm from reaching any eggs.

While some users report anything from irregular bleeding and spotting to prolonged, continuous bleeding during the first several months to a year, according to the CDC, many people do stop getting their period after that one-year mark.

Vaginal rings (Annovera and NuvaRing) are round pieces of flexible plastic that you insert into your vagina, per the Mayo Clinic. It works pretty much the same way as combination hormonal birth control pills, minus the whole daily pill-taking part. They use progestin and estrogen to suppress ovulation, thicken your cervical mucus, and thin your uterine lining. Rings are designed to be inserted and left in your vagina for three weeks and then removed for a week. At that point, you’ll typically have your period.

If used this way, you may only experience a lighter period. But if you want to skip a period, you can keep your ring in at all times and swap it out for a new one every three to five weeks, skipping the “period week,” per Planned Parenthood. This can come with breakthrough bleeding, so make sure and talk with your doctor before trying this method.

Like the ring and the pill, the birth control patch (Xulane) delivers progestin and estrogen to your body to help prevent pregnancy. It’s a small, sticky square that you wear on your butt, upper outer arm, stomach, or back, the Mayo Clinic says, so you can absorb the hormones through your skin.

To use this birth control method as directed, you apply a patch weekly for three weeks (21 days total) before discarding it and going patch-free for seven days—when you’ll get your period. After seven days, you place a new patch on your skin.

For many people, the patch makes their periods lighter, regular, and easy to predict. But if you want to skip a period, simply remove the old patch after 21 days and replace it with a new one—no need to go patch-free for a week. One thing to remember about all of these birth control options, Dr. Dweck says, is that some people will continue to get a light bleed or spotting even with forms of contraception that are often associated with stopping regular periods.

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Okay, so if some types of birth control can delay or prevent a visit from Aunt Flo, how long do you need to be on it before you see a change in your period? According to Dr. Walsh, most hormonal contraception methods take two to three months to work entirely in terms of bleeding modification. So, with that in mind, it’s important to plan and prepare if you want to use birth control to reduce, regulate, or delay menstrual bleeding.

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One question experts get asked a lot is: “If I start birth control on my period, will it stop?” If taken correctly, there isn’t one birth control method that is guaranteed to stop your period at all, let alone immediately. There are some cases where birth control can stop heavy bleeding, though, Lucky Sekhon, MD, ob-gyn and endocrinologist at RMA of New York, Flo Medical Expert, and assistant clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, tells SELF, but it must be done under the direction of a doctor.

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Taking more than the prescribed number of pills in one day is not going to stop your period right away. Depending on how many you take, it may cause you to feel sick, but it’s not going to magically make your period disappear.

In fact, Dr. Dweck says there are instances in which taking two pills in one day is recommended to “catch up” for a missed pill. But whether or not it will eventually stop your period depends on your individual circumstances. “Some people will have irregular bleeding after taking two pills, while others will remain on schedule,” Dr. Dweck explains.

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Okay, so you’re on birth control that has stopped your period, but now you’re ready to leave that contraceptive method behind. While the exact timeline of when your period will return depends on a variety of factors, the Mayo Clinic says menstrual periods generally resume within three months after stopping birth control pills. This is also true of other types of birth control, with the exception of the shot, which can take much longer—sometimes between 6 and 18 months, according to the Center for Young Women’s Health.

Regardless of the type, your body and menstrual cycle will need time to adjust. This could mean you get a typical period within a month, or you could experience spotting or irregular periods for a few months, according to the Cleveland Clinic. But remember, this is often temporary, and your cycle may return to its pre-birth control days in just a matter of time. For others, it may not.

But when it comes to getting pregnant, your body operates on an entirely different timeline. Typically, ovulation resumes a few weeks after you stop taking birth control pills or using another hormonal contraceptive device like the implant or IUD (though it can take longer with the shot, as we mentioned). Once you ovulate, you can get pregnant as long as you’re having unprotected sex with someone who’s able to get you pregnant. If this happens during your first cycle off of birth control, you may not have a period at all. For that reason, it’s a good idea to have a few pregnancy tests close by or use a backup form of birth control if getting pregnant is possible for you.

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While you might not be able to make your monthly visitor disappear forever, many forms of birth control can help regulate your period. This is great news for people living with irregular cycles and painful or heavy periods. According to the ACOG, combined hormonal methods that contain estrogen and progestin can make your period more regular, lighter, and shorter. This includes birth control pills, the patch, and the vaginal ring.

The bottom line is this: If you view your period as a monthly reassurance that you’re not pregnant, then you might prefer to see it arrive on schedule. But if that’s not you, asking your doctor about the types of birth control that are most likely to stop your period is something to consider.

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Sources:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use, 2016
2. Food and Drug Administration, Nexplanon
3. Open Access Journal of Contraception, Unscheduled Bleeding and Contraceptive Choice: Increasing Satisfaction and Continuation Rates

Related:

• 9 Questions to Ask Yourself When Deciding on New Birth Control
• What to Do If Birth Control Makes Your Period Worse
• The Truth About Getting Pregnant When You Have an IUD