Periods Return After New Daily Contraceptive Discontinued

The experimental non-cyclic Pill appears safe, effective in trial

TUESDAY, May 9, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- The vast majority of women taking an experimental, low-dose, non-cyclic oral contraceptive saw a return of their period after a year on the drug, a new study finds.

The study of 187 women found that 185 (99 percent) of them returned to menses or became pregnant within 90 days after they stopped taking an investigational low-dose, non-cyclic oral contraceptive. They'd taken the contraceptive every day, without placebo, for a median of 364 days.

"Patients want to know if, after taking an oral contraceptive every day without placebo pills, their menses will return. By evaluating this, we were able to learn that women who followed this daily regimen experienced a return to menses without a considerable delay," researcher Dr. Anne. R. Davis, assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, said in a prepared statement.

She presented the findings Monday at the annual clinical meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in Washington, D.C.

This follow-up study was conducted after a Phase III clinical trail of the non-cyclic oral contraceptive, designed to be taken every day of the year without a placebo (sugar pill) interval, in contrast to a 28-day cycle regimen.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about birth control.

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