Should Aunt Irma Stop Visiting?

I thought of bringing a story published by New York Times to your attention. First, here are some (quite a few) excerpts from the article:

For many women, a birth control pill that eliminates monthly menstruation might seem a welcome milestone.

But others view their periods as fundamental symbols of fertility and health, researchers have found. Rather than loathing their periods, women evidently carry on complex love-hate relationships with them.

The Food and Drug Administration agency is expected to approve the first contraceptive pill that is designed to eliminate periods as long as a woman takes it.

The drug’s maker, Wyeth, said yesterday that it was expecting F.D.A. approval in May, but has declined to discuss its marketing plans.

The company’s research shows that nearly two-thirds of women it surveyed expressed an interest in giving up their periods. That dovetails with the findings of similar research conducted by Linda C. Andrist, a professor at MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston.

“We don’t want to confront our bodily functions anymore,” Ms. Andrist said. “We’re too busy.” Doctors say they know of no medical reason women taking birth control pills need to have a period. The monthly bleeding that women on pills experience is not a real period, in fact.

Ms. Chesler, who teaches documentary making at the University of California, San Diego, said she became concerned about efforts to eliminate menstruation when she first heard about the idea several years ago.

“Women are not sick,” she said. “They don’t need to control their periods for 30 or 40 years.”

Eliminating menstruation is not a completely new concept. Women who take any kind of oral contraceptive do not have real periods.

Menstrual suppression may be particularly appealing to women who suffer severe pain, heavy bleeding or emotional problems during their periods. A study by Canadian researchers found that women afflicted by heavy menstrual bleeding give up $1,692 a year in lost wages.

Views about menstruation have long been mixed. Some cultures have banished menstruating women to huts or required special baths after periods. Others believed that menstruating women had special powers.

Wyeth's therapeutic director for women’s health, Dr. Ginger D. Constantine, cited company-financed research indicating that women often feel less effective at work and school during their periods. They limit sexual activity and exercise, wear dark clothes and stay home more, resulting in absenteeism, she said.

I must say I have no idea what I would choose, given the option. To be honest, before having it, I went crazy waiting for my period. Other girls around me were already talking about this issue and I felt left out and such a child. I would now said I was way too ignorant of the matter. I got it, I was happy, for about two months. Then I faced the real problems of it: impossible timing, extra care needed, all the ill-feeling sometimes associated with it. I do not have an actual PMS. But I do feel fat and ugly while it lasts.

Now I have to think of complete freedom. If using normal pills leaves me with a fake period, why keep it? Is that what makes me feel like a woman? Far from it... I think I would be more inclined to say yes to such an option, after monitoring the issue for a while (a year or so would be enough to see if any health issues arise).

What would you do in this case?