The way you take the contraceptive pill has more to do with the Pope than your health
ABCThe way women have been advised to take the combined contraceptive pill for the past 60 years unnecessarily increases the likelihood of taking it incorrectly, leaving them at risk of unplanned pregnancy. This is because standard combined oral contraceptive pills — such as Microgynon, Rigevidon or Marvelon — are designed to be taken for 21 days, followed by a seven-day break, during which time the woman doesn't take the pill and experiences vaginal bleeding. New patterns of pill taking As a result, many clinicians now favour extended or continuous pill regimens where three or more packets of pill are taken consecutively and only then does a woman have a pill-free week, or a shortened pill-free interval of four days. With the combined oral contraceptive pill, lighter bleeding is experienced because the thinner lining sheds as a result of withdrawal of hormones, not because of a need to shed a proliferated lining.
History of this topic
Contraceptive pill can be taken every day, NHS says in new guidance
The Independent
'Continuous Contraception' May Banish Periods
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