My sister is on Seasonale (that pill where you only have 4 periods a year), and has only been on it for a little while. Though she’s not due to have a period until April, she’s been having one for the past 14 days. She called her doctor about it, who said to stop taking it all together for 4 days, start again on the 5th, and everything should be back to normal. But she’d really like to know if this is something that happens a lot, and is normal… really I think she’d like any info about it at all!

Seasonal has the same hormones as regular birth control pills, the difference is that all 28 pills contain hormones unlike regular birth control pill packs which contain a week of placebos. You should be aware that when beginning any birth control pill there is a possibility of bleeding and spotting within the first three to four months. After that your body should be adjusted to the pill and no spotting in between periods should occur. Your doctor may have told you to stop taking the pills for four days to give your uterus a chance to completely shed the lining. This is something that can happen but we haven’t read anything that states it happens “a lot”. One more interesting note: taking vitamin C close to the time of ingesting a birth control pill can interfere with metabolism of the pill and spotting can occur. If you take vitamin C do so at least four hours before or after taking your pill. Remember to take your pill at the same time every day to minimize breakthrough bleeding and use a condom to prevent sexually transmitted infections.