Sexual Health Birth Control Using the Pill How to Skip Your Period With Birth Control Pills By Dawn Stacey, PhD, LMHC Dawn Stacey, PhD, LMHC LinkedIn Twitter Dawn Stacey, PhD, LMHC, is a published author, college professor, and mental health consultant with over 15 years of counseling experience. Learn about our editorial process Updated on March 31, 2023 Medically reviewed by Anita Sadaty, MD Medically reviewed by Anita Sadaty, MD Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Anita Sadaty, MD, is board-certified in obstetrics-gynecology. She is a clinical assistant professor at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and founder of Redefining Health Medical. Learn about our Medical Expert Board Print Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Motivations Effect of Birth Control How to Skip a Period Planning Ahead Safety Some are interested in learning how to skip a period with birth control because of the symptoms they experience when menstruating. Others want to use the pill to avoid having a period for convenience reasons. In either case, experts say it's safe. It's also easy to do: Instead of taking three weeks of active (hormone-containing pills) and then a week of inactive (hormone-free, placebo) pills, skip the latter and immediately move on to your next pack. This article discusses how to skip a period on birth control, why it works, the reasons some opt to do this, and what to expect if you try it. Jamie Grill / Getty Images Why Skip a Period? Many people prefer to extend menstrual cycles for medical or practical reasons. Medical reasons for skipping a period might include having symptoms like: Headaches Bloating Cramping Painful periods Heavy bleeding Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) Some practical reasons for skipping a period might include: An upcoming vacationA big project at work or schoolBeing in a remote location with few facilities How Hormones Take Charge of Your Menstrual Cycle How Birth Control Can Help You Skip a Period While using the pill, you're not having an actual period because you're not building up a uterine lining. The bleeding you experience during the week you take the placebo pills is called a withdrawal bleed. A withdrawal bleed simply occurs because the body is responding to the lack of hormones in these inactive pills. When the hormone-containing pills are resumed, the bleeding stops. Since withdrawal bleeding only occurs when hormones are no longer being delivered, taking only the active pills can keep it from happening. How the Pill Works How to Skip Your Period Taking the Pill Here is how to skip your period using traditional birth control pills: Choose the month when you do not want to have a period.Continue to take all the pills in your pack during the month before when you want to skip a period.After finishing the pack's active pills, do not start taking the placebo pills. Instead, start day 1 of your next pill pack on the day that you would have taken your first placebo pill.Keep taking all the active pills in your new pack.When you reach the placebo pills in the second pack, your monthly withdrawal bleeding "period" should come back unless you repeat the steps above. Switching to a quarterly pill like Seasonique is another option. Instead of three weeks of active and a week of inactive pills, you take 84 consecutive days of estrogen/progestin pills followed by seven days of estrogen-only pills. This continuous birth control allows you to have only four periods per year. Planning for a Skipped Period A bit of advanced planning can help you successfully skip a period with birth control. Here are some things to keep in mind. First-Time Pill Users You typically need to wait for your next period to begin before you can start taking birth control pills. Your healthcare provider may want to see how your body reacts to the pill before you start using it to skip your period. Speak to them about what makes the most sense for you. Make Sure You Have Enough Pill Packs If you only want to skip one period, then you'll need two packs of pills—one for your current month and one for the upcoming month. If you want to skip back to back periods, you'll need more. Ask your healthcare provider to write a prescription that allows the pharmacy to dispense several packs at a time. If you are using insurance, be sure to check that your plan allows for this. If you usually get your birth control one pack at a time, you may be able to pick up your next prescription early. Again, be sure your insurance approves of this. Check the Calendar and Stay on Track Make sure you have at least three weeks to take all of the active pills in your pack before the week you want to skip a period. You must start the next pack during the fourth week of your previous pack. It's easy to forget this if you are used to taking birth control pills in the traditional way. It may help to pop all of the inactive pills out of the pack as soon as you get it, so you don't accidentally take them out of habit. If you have a reminder about when to start your next pill pack set on your phone or marked on your calendar, be sure to adjust it. Is It Safe to Skip Periods? When it comes to research on the safety of skipping periods, studies have consistently shown that it is safe and won't cause any long-term problems. Many experts say there is no medical or health need for you to have a "withdrawal bleed" period on birth control. It's fine to skip the placebo pills because they don't have medication in them. But they are useful for helping you keep track of when it's time to start a new pack of pills. As long as you take the active pills at the right times, skipping the placebo pills will not make your birth control less effective. If you have any concerns about using the pill to skip a period, talk to a healthcare provider. How Effective Is The Pill? Potential Risks There are some other risks of using birth control to skip your period that you should be aware of: You Might Miss That You’re PregnantWhile the pill is an effective form of birth control when used correctly, it’s not perfect. If you’re skipping your period with the pill, you won’t have a missed expected period as a possible early sign that you’re pregnant. You Might Not Realize You Have a Health Condition Your period can tell you a lot about your health. Sometimes, when things aren’t going as usual with your monthly flow, it can be a sign that you have a condition like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), or even a thyroid condition. Not getting regular periods can also be a sign that you're overexercising or not eating enough. Using birth control to skip periods means you won't get these messages from your body. You May Have Spotting When you change up how you’re taking your birth control, you might have some breakthrough bleeding the week you would have had the withdrawal bleed (though it probably won’t be as heavy or last as long). You may also have some spotting at other times in your cycle as your body tries to adjust to the hormonal shifts. It should get better over time, but it can be frustrating and inconvenient. You Might Forget to Take Your Pills The placebo pills don't have an effect on your body, but they do help you stay on track with taking your birth control. If you plan to skip the week of inactive pills and start a new pack, but forget or don’t get a new pack in time, you could get thrown off your routine and the pill may not be as effective. Summary To skip a period using birth control, take the three weeks of hormone-containing pills, then skip the week of placebo pills. Start a new pack of pills instead. It is safe to skip this "period" if you want to. You may have spotting or "breakthrough bleeding" during the week when you would have bled, but it should be lighter than your regular withdrawal bleed. If you skip your period long-term, you may find that the spotting eventually goes away. Skipping a period with the pill won't make your birth control less effective. Just make sure you have enough pill packs and that you follow the steps above. 11 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. Oral contraceptives - skipping periods when taking the Pill. Hillard PA. Menstrual suppression: current perspectives. Int J Womens Health. 2014;6:631-637. Published 2014 Jun 23. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S46680 Edelman A, Micks E, Gallo MF, Jensen JT, Grimes DA. Continuous or extended cycle vs. cyclic use of combined hormonal contraceptives for contraception. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;2014(7):CD004695. Published 2014 Jul 29. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004695.pub3 Dominguez, L. Birth control pills. Royal College of the Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (UK). FSRH Clinical guideline: combined hormonal contraception (January 2019, amended November 2020). Planned Parenthood. Menstruation. National Institutes of Health. Menstrual cycle as a fifth vital sign. Vigil P, Lyon C, Flores B, Rioseco H, Serrano F. Ovulation, a sign of health. Linacre Q. 2017;84(4):343–355. doi:10.1080/00243639.2017.1394053 Kwak Y, Kim Y, Baek KA. Prevalence of irregular menstruation according to socioeconomic status: A population-based nationwide cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2019;14(3):e0214071. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0214071 Munro MG. Practical aspects of the two FIGO systems for management of abnormal uterine bleeding in the reproductive years. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2017;40:3-22. doi:10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2016.09.011 Planned Parenthood. Will missing my birth control mess up my period?. Additional Reading Nappi RE, Kaunitz AM, Bitzer J. Extended regimen combined oral contraception: A review of evolving concepts and acceptance by women and clinicians. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2016;21(2):106-115. doi:10.3109/13625187.2015.1107894 By Dawn Stacey, PhD, LMHC Dawn Stacey, PhD, LMHC, is a published author, college professor, and mental health consultant with over 15 years of counseling experience. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit