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Birth Control Pills for Menopause

by Sarah Densmore

Overview

Birth control pills, or oral contraceptives, are prescribed to some women in perimenopause to help alleviate the symptoms caused by fluctuating hormones. However, birth control pills are not prescribed for women who have already reached menopause. Post-menopausal women are given menopausal hormone therapy to lessen their physical difficulties.
The Facts

Perimenopause is the time in a woman's life when her body begins to prepare for menopause. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, during this transition period, which can last anywhere from a few months to several years, a woman's ovaries start to shut down. As this occurs, her estrogen and progesterone levels can fluctuate wildly, causing numerous uncomfortable symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, irregular menstrual cycles, mood swings and vaginal dryness. Menopause is reached when a woman hasn't had a period for 12 consecutive months. Although a woman's ovaries are only secreting minute amounts of estrogen and progesterone, she may find she continues to suffer from some of the same problems she experienced during perimenopause, including hot flashes, vaginal dryness and night sweats.

The Differences

Oral contraceptives contain synthetic forms of estrogen and progesterone at levels that are too high to be safe for post-menopausal women. According to womentowomen.com, the birth control pill can contain hormones at twice the levels of those found in menopausal hormone therapy. Even low-dose oral contraceptives have a slightly higher amount of hormones than many menopausal hormone therapy prescriptions. Menopausal hormone therapy allows post-menopausal women to find symptom relief without taking hormones they either don't need or that are in amounts too great to be safe. For instance, a woman who still has her uterus will need to take estorgen and progesterone to prevent her uterine wall from becoming too thick and to lessen her risk for uterine cancer. However, the National Institute on Aging states that since a woman who has had her uterus removed won't have these concerns, a therapy containing only estrogen will be all that's needed.
Oral Contraceptive Benefits

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that hormone treatments containing both estrogen and progesterone can help regulate a perimenopausal woman's periods and relieve not only the symptoms listed above, but sleeplessness, problems with mental alertness and confusion, excessive facial hair growth and thinning hair on the head.
Warning

The advisory against oral contraceptives is the same for perimenopausal women as it is for younger women. Women who smoke, have high blood pressure, a history of blood clots or strokes, or have been diagnosed with an estrogen-dependent cancer or benign tissue growth should steer clear of oral contraceptives. Additionally, womenshealth.org cautions that migraine suffers may be at increased risk of stroke and so should consult a neurologist before taking birth control pills.
Considerations

Because oral contraceptives can be very effective at relieving the symptoms of perimenopause, they can actually make it difficult for a woman to tell when she's actually hit menopause, says the North American Menopause Society. Because of this, some health-care professionals counsel women to stop taking birth control pills at age 51 (the average age women reach menopause). However, NAMS reports that women may want to think twice about this approach: ". . .not all women will have reached menopause, and some may need birth control for a few more years."