FDA Approves Women's Health Drug, Seasonale

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Seasonale, which would reduce the number of women's periods to 4 a year by taking the hormones generally found in conventional birth control pills, but for longer spans of time. Barr Laboratories manufactures Seasonale.

Seasonale would be another alternative for women seeking birth control. First introduced in the 1960s, the most common birth control pills combine the hormones estrogen and progestin for use for 3 weeks followed by a week of placebos to allow a woman to have her period. Seasonale, however, uses the same types of hormones but for 12 weeks straight before a week of placebos.

Seasonale is as effective at preventing pregnancy as other oral contraceptive products. The failure rate for traditional birth control pills is around 1% to 2% with perfect use, according to the FDA. Some women should not use birth control pills, including those who smoke cigarettes, particularly if they're older than 35. There is a slight increase in risk for blood clots and high blood pressure.