Radio Shows | Seasonal Birth Control | mp3 … wma … wav

Of all the birth control options available one stands out: Seasonal birth control. It reduces a woman's periods from 13 to just four a year. That's once every three months which means a lot less cramping and all the frustrations of PMS.

How it's done is actually nothing revolutionary. These pills have the same hormones as traditional oral contraceptives, an estrogen and progestin. What's different is the doses are significantly lower and you take it for 84 days instead of the typical 21. Then like traditional oral contraceptives, you're off the hormones for seven days to allow for menstruation.

Of course one drawback of not getting your period monthly is you don't know if you're pregnant which is one reason many women prefer the typical pill. But studies show seasonal birth control is 99 percent effective with perfect use.

It does so by preventing ovulation and further reducing the buildup of tissues in the uterus so the fertilized egg can not imbed. A side benefit is women experience very "light periods" or none at all. Clinical trials also found the lower dose of hormones means fewer side effects like low iron, pelvic pain and infertility.

Even more significant is women on this pill have an 80 percent lower risk of ovarian and cervical cancer than those on traditional pills for ten years or more.

Some people believe this pill actually returns women to a more natural state. Years ago, pregnancy and breast feeding reduced period frequency; so it can be argued quarterly periods are more normal for women.

But hormone based birth control continues to have downsides: there's an increased risk of stroke and blood clots and for smokers, increased cardiovascular disease. Keep in mind; this is a new drug regime which means we still don't know its long term effects.

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