New version of birth control pill SEASONALE recently approved by FDA

The FDA recently approved the birth control pill Seasonique, which allows women to cut their menstrual periods from one a month to only four periods a year. This advance in medicine will give women even more freedom and variety of choices in preventing unwanted pregnancies.

Seasonique is the latest version of SEASONALE, both designed to give women four periods a year instead of 12. Seasonique provides a low dose of estrogen during a menstrual period, resulting in less breakthrough bleeding than the earlier version approved in 2003. With Seasonale, women took only “dummy” pills during their period.   Both are prescription, oral contraceptives. If used as directed, either drug is thought to be 99% effective in preventing pregnancy.

Serious or minor side effects have been reported in using hormonal contraceptives in some women. Among serious risks are blood clots, stroke, and heart attack. In women over age 35 who smoke cigarettes, the risks of cardiovascular side effects are increased.

Barr Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of both extended-cycle prescription contraceptives, emphasizes that their oral products do not protect against HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. Condoms are your best protection when having intercourse with a partner whose sexual history poses a risk.

Seasonique was tested in a study of 2,500 U.S. women between the ages of 18 and 40 who took the drug for 12 months. Side effects were similar to drug trials of other oral contraceptives, Barr Pharmaceuticals reported. The new birth control pill will be on the market in July 2006.