That Time of the . . . Year

Off-Season

Chemically there's nothing radically new about the contents of Seasonale. Traditional birth control pills, taken continuously, can achieve the same "revolution" that Barr is buzzing about.

But the designers of the original birth control pill were well aware of the socially charged innovation of the Pill and so deliberately avoided the controversy that menstrual suppression might have caused. They created the 21/7-dosage program: 21 days of hormone pills, 7 days of sugar or placebo pills. In this way, for the past 45 years, the traditional pill regimen has mimicked the natural menstrual cycle. And it is in this "off week" that women on most oral contraceptives have, what most of us are now learning, is a purely cosmetic "pill period."

Anita Nelson, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA School of Medicine and an ob-gyn at UCLA Harbor Medical Center's Women's Clinic in Los Angeles, has for decades prescribed continuous use of birth control pills to her patients for everything from honeymoons and pilgrimages, to menstrual migraines and fibroids.

And now, with Seasonale, Nelson sees "such an enthusiasm with women. The first wave, when women hear about it -- they are uncertain. They think it is unhealthy, but in fact it is very healthy not to lose blood. Then there is the second wave, when they start asking, 'Why haven't people done this before?' "

Through May, pharmacies have filled more than 120,000 prescriptions for Seasonale, results that exceeded even Barr's expectations, according to Carol Cox, vice president of investor relations for Barr. A $50 million marketing campaign -- including two-page ads in nearly a dozen magazines from Vogue to US News and World Report with televisions spots starting this month -- will portray deciding not to menstruate as a bold and glamorous move. The campaign's tag line: "Fewer Periods, More Possibilities."

This message of more possibilities suggests periods are holding women back. Candace Bushnell, creator of HBO's "Sex and the City" and a spokeswoman for Seasonale, said as much at the launch for the pink pill in November.

"When you think about what women have accomplished with 13 periods a year," she said. "Think about what we can accomplish with only four. We have come a long way, but we've only just begun."

I was there that day, listening to Bushnell and wondering whether I would have taken Seasonale if I heard about it when I arrived at Harvard. If the promise is a life with more potential and accomplishment, who wouldn't? But what if, as I believe, having had my period could have helped me deal with some of my own challenges -- of working perhaps too hard, losing balance, closing myself off to emotion and vulnerability -- rather than hindered me? Eager to hear from other women, those with and without menstrual histories like mine, I found a menstruation Web site where, since testing for Seasonale began, women have answered the question: "Would you stop menstruating if you could?" An athlete responds, "I can't afford to slow down for the mess and pain of periods while training to win!"

A 29-year-old did the math: "1,359 days (45 months, 3.7 years) of my life spent bleeding so far."

A 17 year-old writes: "If I don't have my period I may forget what it's like, and not be able to relate to my daughter (if I have one) when she gets it."