Young women increasingly choosing to skip their periods
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Young women are increasingly choosing to skip their periods than have them, according to the CEO of a birth control delivery company.
Some parents say it makes their daughters more competitive in school sports and better focused during important exams.
Amelia Clough, 21 got her period when she was 13 and suffered severe migraines because of it.
“When I was just having my regular periods I would be out a day, a day and a half and I would be in bed in a dark room under the covers,” she said.
Her mom, Kris Brockmann was concerned as Clough was missing out on school and other activities. Before she started high school and got involved with crew, the swim team, soccer, and wrestling, they explored options with Clough’s primary care doctor.
Dr. Sophia Yen is the CEO and Co-Founder of Pandia Health, a birth control delivery company that also provides a doctor’s consult if needed. She suggested Clough skip her period altogether.
Dr. Yen said people come to her for various reasons, as the number one cause of missed school and work under the age of 25, is painful heavy periods.
“There is no scientific reason or need to bleed every single month,” Dr. Yen said.
It’s an option Dr. Yen educates all her clients on. Out of the 30,000 women across the nation who use Pandia Health, Dr. Yen said she’s seeing the trend to skip periods altogether become more popular.
About a third of her clients want to bleed every month, another third don’t want to bleed ever, and the remaining want to bleed occasionally. Dr. Yen said by having fewer periods you decrease your risk of ovarian, endometrial, and colorectal cancer.
Beyond just athletics, she added that making periods optional makes teenagers more competitive academically,
“I ask you is anybody out there who has a daughter with a uterus…is your daughter gonna do better on the S-A-T bleeding or not bleeding? Because I have a 16-year-old daughter and she’s going to crush your daughter,” Dr. Yen said.
Clough tried birth control pills and later switched to a NuvaRing, then an IUD, all of which helped alleviate her symptoms.
Delaying menstruation remains controversial, however; even physicians who support the option may not mention it unless you bring up the topic. If you want to try delaying your period, ask your doctor which option might work for you.
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