first page
| art
of menstruation | artists
(non-menstrual)
| belts | bidets
| Bly, Nellie | MUM board
| books (and reviews)
| cats | company
booklets
directory | costumes | cups
| cup usage | dispensers
| douches, pain, sprays | essay
directory | extraction | famous
people | FAQ | humor
| huts | links
| media | miscellaneous
|
museum future | Norwegian
menstruation
exhibit | odor | pad
directory | patent medicine |
poetry
directory | products, current
| religion | menstrual products safety
| science | shame
| sponges | synchrony
| tampon directory | early tampons
| teen ads directory | tour
(video) | underpants
directory | videos, films
directory | washable pads
Having A Monthly Period Throughout the Reproductive Years Is NOT Natural.
- Women of decades ago did not have as many periods as women today because their periods started later and ended early, they had many more children, they started having children at a much earlier age, and they breastfed longer.
- Women today, on average, start having menses earlier, and now the average age of menopause is almost 52 year of age !!! They also delay childbearing, often into the mid/late 30's, have fewer children, and don't breastfeed as long. All this leads to MANY more periods.
- Incessant ovulation and menses, month after month after month, is associated with many health problems, including a proven increased risk of ovarian cancer, anemia associated with heavy menses, ovarian cysts, and endometriosis.
Oral contraceptives (OCs) or birth control pills inhibit ovulation and thus reduce many of the risks listed above. But, the way OCs are designed, they artificially induce monthly menses often associated with headaches, cramps, and PMS. By taking the real pills in OCs continuously women often avoid the many problems associated with their periods. Many articles have been written on this new way to take the pill and one drug company is completing a study of patients taking 12 weeks of real pills in a row [Barr Laboratories with its Seasonale pill].
We have another article accepted for publication to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (June 2002) which will discuss the experiences of almost 300 patients who are taking OCs more than three weeks in a row. Future research studies will help us determine which regimen of OCs will be the best.
Many birth control methods now and in the future will eliminate monthly menses and the nuisance associated problems.
NOTE: WOMEN SHOULD NOT ALTER THE WAY THEY TAKE THE PILL UNLESS THEY TALK TO THEIR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER ABOUT SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS.
Thanks,
Patricia J. Sulak, M.D.
Professor, Texas A&M Health Science Center
Obstetrician/gynecologist
Scott and White Clinic
Temple, Texas
Read another opinion in favor of stopping, by the Brazilian physician who is the author of Is Menstruation Obsolete? (Oxford University Press, 1999), and an opposing opinion, by another Brazilian, gynecologist Dr. Nelso Soucasaux
Read site visitors's comments about stopping menstruation.
first
page | contact the
museum | art of menstruation |
artists
(non-menstrual) | belts | bidets
| Bly, Nellie | MUM board
| books (and reviews)
| cats | company
booklets
directory | costumes | cups
| cup usage | dispensers
| douches, pain, sprays | essay
directory | extraction | famous
people | FAQ | humor
| huts | links
| media | miscellaneous
|
museum future | Norwegian
menstruation
exhibit | odor | pad
directory | patent medicine |
poetry
directory | products, current
| religion | menstrual products safety
| science | shame
| sponges | synchrony
| tampon directory | early tampons
| teen ads directory | tour
(video) | underpants
directory | videos, films
directory | washable pads
©2002 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org