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But the birth control pill was designed with a huge flaw: the 28-day cycle.
Many people assume that the pill had to be designed this way, to follow a natural menstrual cycle.
In actuality, the cycle’s design was all about trying to appease the Catholic Church.
It combined progestin with estrogen to halt ovulation and thus prevent pregnancy.
Rock saw the pill as natural since its ingredients mimicked hormones already found in the body.
Pope Pius XII had already approved the use of the rhythm method, in 1951 (per PBS).
TheCleveland Clinicexplains this method involves tracking menstrual cycles and avoiding sex for a few days before and after ovulation.
During that week off, the lining of the uterus would slough off.
Though the Catholic Church sided against the pill, many formulations of the drug still perpetuate the 28-day cycle.
Frequent menstruation has not been the norm throughout human history.
Strassmann calculated how often each woman menstruated.
According to Strassman’s research, the average Dogon woman menstruates 100 times in her life.
In comparison, the average lifetime total for a menstruator in a Western country is 350 to 400 times.
“It’s a pity that gynecologists think that women have to menstruate every month,” Strassmann said.
“They just don’t understand the real biology of menstruation.”
Fortunately, manyalternative birth control optionsnow exist shots, rings, patches, implants, and more.
In particular, an increasing number ofwomen are ditching the pill for IUDs.
