Birth control pills are designed to prevent pregnancy by suppressing ovulation. If a woman doesn't ovulate, she cannot become pregnant. While they are effective at pregnancy prevention, they can also help a woman choose when she'll have her next period.
Instructions
Schedule Your Next Period
1. Open a regular 28-day pack of birth control pills and examine the package. The first 21 pills in your package should be active pills that contain hormones capable of preventing ovulation. The last seven pills in your pack should be inactive pills that are just used as reminders or placeholders.
2. Begin taking one active birth control pill each day until all the active pills are gone.
3. Throw the inactive pills away once you've taken your last active pill. These pills don't prevent pregnancy. They are just there to remind you to take your pill at the same time each day. If you take the inactive pills, withdrawal bleeding that resembles your period will begin.
4. Take the first active pill of a new pack of birth control pills. If you continue taking an active pill each day, you won't get your period.
5. Stop taking the active birth control pills when you'd like your period to begin. You're period should start soon after you've taken the last active pill. You may take the inactive pills at this time or skip them.
6. Ask your doctor about extended options for delaying your period if you want to defer it until a date two months in the future. For example, some women take their active birth control pills for 63 days and then follow up by taking their inactive pills for seven days, during which they experience vaginal bleeding.
7. Consider a 91-day pack of birth control pills if you want to skip your period for almost three months. You'll take one active pill a day for 84 days and then have vaginal bleeding during the next 7 days of inactive pill use. Seasonale (ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel) is one brand that offers this option.
8. Take Lybrel (ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel) if you don't have a specific date in mind for getting your period, but you'd like to delay it for a very long time. According to the Women's Health Network, Lybrel can keep you from having your period for the entire year.
Tags: your period, active pill, inactive pills, control pills, active birth, active birth control, birth control
