5 types of birth control that stop periods
A person may wish to stop or delay their period for a variety of reasons, including to reduce cramps or headaches. The timing of a person’s period may also be inconvenient and disrupt daily life.
How to Stop Your Period With Birth Control
No matter how predicable your period is, there are times when you dread it.
In the middle of a long-planned vacation? Check.
A crucial athletic match, exams, or your prom? Check, check, and check.
There are multiple ways to stop your period — for weeks, months, or even years — by using birth control. Doctors call this menstrual suppression. Some methods are more effective than others for a long-term pause. But for most women, menstrual suppression is low-risk.
Of course, planning around events isn’t the only reason you’d want to stop your periods. For some, monthly cycles come with heavy bleeding, severe pain, or migraines. Others have medical issues like endometriosis, bleeding disorders, or anemia.
The per capita price of healthcare per year is higher in the United States than in any other nation in the world, according to National Public Radio (NPR). America spends nearly 2.5 times as much per person as the United Kingdom does, despite having comparable wealth and a lower life expectancy.
Still others want to skip their periods just because.
How It’s Done
Stopping your period relies on birth control methods that use hormones. These methods include:
- The pill
- Certain intrauterine devices (IUDs)
- Vaginal rings
- Patches
- Shots
- Implants
No method eliminates your period completely. And all carry the potential for breakthrough bleeding, the unpredictable bleeding between your periods.
Pills: Combination birth control pills (COCs) are the most widely used method for pausing your cycle. They have two hormones and typically come in a pack of 28 — 21 days of hormone-containing pills and some placebo, or inactive, pills.
To stop your period, you’d start a new pack of hormone-containing pills after 21 days and keep taking them until you’re ready to have your period.
Amethyst is the first birth control pill approved by the FDA for continuous use. It provides a low-dose hormone combination that can be taken for 365 days without placebo pills.
Drawbacks? Remembering to take a daily pill may be tough for some. The risks associated with continuous use of COCs are the same as regular use — a slight possibility of blood clots and stroke. Chances of those are higher in women who smoke, are older than 35, or have high blood pressure. Learn more about how to use birth control pills effectively.
The IUD: Adding the hormone progestin to an IUD helps treat heavy menstrual bleeding. About half of women who use a hormone-containing IUD stop having periods 6 months after it’s put in. For another 25%, periods happen less often, but don’t stop. The hormone-containing IUD can stay in place and work for 3 to 6 years, depending on the brand. The upside to IUDs is you don’t have to remember to do anything daily or monthly. Read about the differences between the birth control pill and an IUD.
Patches and vaginal rings: These work like birth control pills, with 21 days on their dual hormones and 7 days off. The 2-inch patch goes on your abdomen, bottom, back, or upper arm. To pause your period, you’d attach another hormone-containing patch after 21 days. There is some evidence that long-term patch use may put you at greater risk for deep vein clots (VTE). Get more information on the birth control patch.
Vaginal rings are flexible plastic devices that contain the same hormones as combination birth control pills. To stop your period, you would leave the ring in place for 3 weeks, then replace it with a new one. Vaginal rings provide steadier doses of hormones than birth control patches or pills.
A special type of vaginal ring, called segesterone acetate (Annovera), can be left in for up to a year. If that seems more your style, ask your doctor about it.
It’s important to know that the vaginal ring also slightly raises your chances of toxic shock syndrome. In more cases, women have discharge, discomfort, and mild irritation when using the vaginal ring. Know the pros and cons of a vaginal ring for birth control.
Shots: Birth control shots are one of the most effective ways to stop your period.
At first, you may have a lot of bleeding. This eventually goes away, and the shots do a good job of stopping your period. Nearly 75% of women have no periods after a year of use, although breakthrough bleeding is very common.
Birth control shots are taken every 90 days. Many women may not want or have time to visit the doctor that many times per year. Weight gain is a side effect of this method. Potential bone loss is possible too, although it’s reversible once you stop getting the shots. Learn more about how the birth control shot works.
Implants: These consist only of the hormone progestin. A thin rod is placed under the skin on the inside of your upper arm. It lasts for up to 3 years. Like an IUD, there’s nothing to remember to do. Implants ease the bleeding that happens during your period. But they completely stop periods in less than 25% of those who have them. Implants are the least effective method for stopping your cycle. Read more on the birth control implant.
Which Way Is Right for Me?
If you want to cut down on the number of periods you have per year, then experts suggest standard birth control pills, patches, or the vaginal ring. To stop your period long-term, birth control shots, long-term pills, and the IUD typically work best. Speak with your doctor about it. You’ll work together to figure out which method is best for you.
Show Sources
Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine: “Menstrual Manipulation: Options for Suppressing the Cycle.”
HHS.gov: “Birth Control Methods.”
International Journal of Women’s Health: “Menstrual Suppression: Current Perspectives.”
Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health: “Menstrual Suppression: Choosing Not to Have Your Period.”
National Women’s Health Network: “Menstrual Suppression,” “Can Continuous Birth Control Usage Manage Excessive Bleeding?”
NPJ Microgravity: “Medically Induced Amenorrhea in Female Astronauts.”
FDA: “FDA approves new vaginal ring for one year of birth control.”
5 types of birth control that stop periods
A person may wish to stop or delay their period for a variety of reasons, including to reduce cramps or headaches. The timing of a person’s period may also be inconvenient and disrupt daily life.
This article explores how birth control can stop a period and which type to choose and answers some frequently asked questions.
A person can stop or delay their period using birth control methods. It is also possible to reduce the number of periods a person experiences.
There are various methods a person can choose from to stop their periods.
Several types of birth control can stop periods.
The following table is a direct comparison of some examples of birth control options and their features.
| Birth Control Pill | Birth Control Ring | Intrauterine Device | Depo-Provera Injections | Birth Control Patch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness | 99.7% | 99% | 99% | 99% | 93% |
| Side effects | irregular periods, spotting, nausea, headaches, sore breasts, weight change, and depression | spotting, changes to periods, nausea, headaches, and sore breasts | paint with insertion, cramping after insertion, spotting, and irregular periods | irregular periods, spotting, nausea, weight gain, headaches, sore breasts, and depression | changes to periods, spotting, headaches, nausea, sore breasts, and skin reaction at the patch site |
| Take and replace | daily | every 3-5 weeks | 3-6 years | every 3 weeks | every 3 weeks |
| Costs | $20-$50 per month | $20-$50 per month | $500-$1300 | $30-$70 per shot | $20-$50 per month |
Birth Control Pills
Approximately 25% of females in the United States who use contraception report using birth control pills as their method of choice. Pills that suppress periods are the same as regular birth control pills. However, birth control pills usually involve taking this medication for 21 days and then a further 7 days of taking a placebo.
If a person takes contraceptive pills to stop periods, they will usually take them consecutively with no placebo drug. They may still experience light spotting or breakthrough bleeding.
When taking a break from hormonal birth control, a person may experience withdrawal bleeding, which may resemble a period.
Combination birth control pills (COCs) are a method to pause a person’s period. COCs contain estrogen and progestin.
Examples of COCs include:
- Jolessa: This drug does not stop a period entirely. A person taking this drug brand will have a period every 12 weeks. Jolessa requires a person to take pink tablets for the first 84 days, followed by the white ones for a week.
- Amethyst: A person takes this pill every day for a year and should not get any periods during this time. However, people may get the occasional spotting.
- Seasonique: A person takes this pill every day. They will still have four periods per year because it includes 12 weeks of active pills containing estrogen and progestin followed by 1 week of low dose estrogen pills. Periods typically last around 4 days.
- Quartette: An individual using this method takes active pills for 12 weeks. The active pills provide an increasing estrogen dose, starting with 20 micrograms and ending with 30 micrograms. The person then takes low dose estrogen pills for one week. This reduces the chances of experiencing breakthrough bleeding.
- Amethia: This birth control includes 12 weeks of active pills followed by 7 days of estrogen-only pills. It works similarly to Seasonique.
Birth control ring
A person places a contraceptive ring inside their vagina that releases hormones into the body to prevent ovulation.
When using this as contraception, users remove the ring after 3 weeks to have their period. However, a person can opt to leave it in if they wish to skip their period.
Intrauterine device
This method involves a health professional inserting a T-shaped device into the uterus. It releases a small amount of daily progestin. The device usually stays in place for 3—6 years, but a health professional can remove it at any time.
This device will stop periods altogether for some people, but it may reduce or lighten periods for others.
A 2018 study indicates that this form of contraception is safe and highly effective.
Depo-Provera Injections
The Depo-Provera (DMPA) injection is available in the US and requires a shot every 3 weeks.
It protects against pregnancy and can result in lighter or no menstrual periods. However, it may also result in irregular periods.
Patch
A person can wear a birth control patch, which they need to change weekly. They can wear it on the lower abdomen, buttocks, or upper body. The patch releases hormones directly into a person’s bloodstream.
Typically, a person would remove the patch for the fourth week to allow for a menstrual period. However, if a person keeps the patch on for this fourth week, it can delay or stop periods altogether.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that it has a failure rate of around 7%, which means 7 out of every 100 people using the patch will get pregnant.
