Davina McCall is on a mission to destigmatise female health conditions and we are so here for it. As well as her book, Menopausing: The Positive Roadmap to Your Second Spring, she has a new documentary Channel 4 called “Pill Revolution” which explores hormonal contraceptives and calls for a contraceptive “revolution.”
In Pill Revolution, which aired last night, McCall said that she was feeling “really, really fucking angry” as the show highlighted through speaking to women and medical experts that nowhere near enough research has been done around women’s health.
Her anger and commitment to raising awareness didn’t end when the documentary did, though. Just last night she revealed that the “break” we take from the pill isn’t actually necessary and was actually put in place to appease the Roman Catholic Church. She added, “all those painful periods… for no reason.”
Pill Breaks Are Due To… “The Pope Rule”. Not Joking.
If, like Davina, you often find yourself frustrated by the way women are treated when it comes to reproductive health, this news won’t help.
So, people who take the contraceptive pill – such as Microgynon, Rigevidon, or Marvelon – have historically been told to take the pill for 21 days and then stop for 7, during which time, vaginal bleeding occurs and it seems to be a “period” every month. It’s actually a withdrawal bleed. Many of us were under the impression that this was essential for our health but according to the late Carl Djerass, the “father of the pill”, this was not the case.
The reason that we take that seven day break is because back in the 50s, the seven day bleed was designed by gynaecologist John Rock into the pill in an attempt to persuade the Vatican to accept a new form of artificial contraception and framed it as an extension of the menstrual cycle.
This actually did not succeed but somehow, the seven-day break has continued to be a component of the combined oral contraceptive pill.
Infuriating.
NHS Overturned The Pope Rule
Now, in good news, this is no longer the guidance though we do suspect long-term users of the combined pill could be stuck in the habit. In 2019, the NHS overturned this rule for patients and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare stated that, “the number of unwanted pregnancies will decrease if the pill is taken every day.”
Additionally, according to Harrow Healthcare, “there are other benefits to taking the contraceptive pill every day, such as the reduction of menstrual migraines and other conditions associated with the hormonal cycle. Women can even become amenorrhoeic – which is to stop experiencing menstruation at all – after six months of continuous use.”
Speaking on the overturning, Professor John Guillebard said, “how could it be that for 60 years we have been taking the pill in a sub-optimal way because of this desire to please the Pope?”.
Well, quite.