You Take Birth Control Pills so read

New UK guidelines advise giving up placebo pills for women on birth control.

Most packages of combination birth control pills contain 21 active pills and 7 placebo pills.

But how important is it for women to use those placebo pills or take a break from active pills each month?

According to updated guidelines released in the UK by the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), it’s just as safe and effective for women to skip the placebo interval and take combination birth control pills on an extended or continuous basis.

The conventional 21/7 cyclic regimen was designed to mimic a natural menstrual cycle. During the placebo interval, women experience a withdrawal bleed that’s similar to a natural period.

But there are no health benefits associated with a monthly placebo interval or withdrawal bleed.

For many women, there may even be benefits to skipping it.

“I think a lot of people get scared that you have to have a period every month, but when you’re on pills, that’s just not the case,” Dr. Kimberly Gecsi, an obstetrician-gynecologist at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, told Healthline.

“Are you someone who feels more comfortable if you have regular bleeding or would you prefer to not have a period? Both are totally normal and healthy and fine to do when you’re on [combination birth control] pills,” she said.