Dr. Aruna Ashok MBBS, MS OG, DNB OG
- Clinical Director
Aruna Ashok | 19 September 2025
Sometimes, women might need to adjust their period due to an important occasion or religious function
In such scenarios, menstrual pills can be a convenient option in preponing or postponing their period. However, questions about the pill’s impact on adjusting this natural process might significantly arise. Understanding how and when to use these medications can protect your fertility health. Without the proper professional guidance, it can lead to severe complications like infertility.
This blog has come up with the right information to assist you on safely preponing and postponing the menstrual period, titled “side effects of preponing vs. postponing menstrual pills”.
In women, the normal menstrual cycle is the maximum of 35 and minimum of 21 days. However, 28 days is the average length. No matter how many days your menstrual cycle is, ovulation happens in the mid-cycle, followed by the luteal phase. After the luteal phase, you are likely to have another menstrual bleeding. This marks the beginning of a new menstrual cycle. The cycle repeats until women reach menopause.
For better understanding, those who have a 28-day menstrual cycle may experience ovulation on the 14th day. While others may notice it a bit early or late, depending on their cycle. After ovulation, the remaining days until you have your next period are known as the luteal phase.
The luteal phase is significant for regulating the menstrual period, during which your body produces more progesterone hormones along with some estrogen. This surge results in the growth of the uterine lining. When the implantation happens, these hormones further contribute to thickening the lining in order to support fetal growth. If implantation doesn’t take place, the shredding of this thickened lining happens by a simultaneous drop in both of these hormone levels. When we say shredding, we are talking about menstrual bleeding.
Let’s come to our showstopper – menstrual pills. Another name for menstrual pills is hormonal birth control pills.
The disruption in these hormones (progesterone and estrogen) can impact the timing and cycle of your period. The disruption may most often happen due to stress, certain medical conditions, surgical interventions, and medications.
Menstrual pills may largely work by altering these hormones in preponing or postponing the period.
Listed below is a detailed breakdown of how these medications work by altering the period.
There are two major types of menstrual pills. They are combination pills and progestin-only pills. Both of these are oral contraceptives. Combination pills have two hormone-like substances, namely estrogen and progestin. While progestin-only pills have a progestin-like substance alone. Their primary mechanism is to prevent ovulation and fertilisation. They may also work to treat menstrual-related issues.
Your healthcare provider may prescribe the right type of menstrual pills depending on your requirements and condition.
Combination pills, or combined oral contraceptive pills, generally come in both active and inactive pills. Active pills contain hormone substances, while inactive ones do not contain any hormones.
In simple words, active pills are designed to prevent pregnancy or control the menstrual period. Whereas inactive pills are designed to trigger and mimic a period during the days when you do not take active pills (hormone-free interval). Having a period through inactive pills during this interval is known as withdrawal bleeding. While the inactive pills are often referred to as placebo pills.
Combination pills can be used in the extended-cycle method or continuous-dosing method. Both of which play a significant role in suppressing the menstrual bleeding for a longer period.
For better understanding: If you take active pills from an extended-cycle for consecutive two or more months, and then have an inactive pill for one week (7 pills), you may be likely to have period-like bleeding, known as withdrawal bleeding. Until you stop taking hormonal (active) pills, you may not notice bleeding. Conversely, inactive pills may trigger and mimic the menstrual bleeding within two to three days of taking the pills. It is essential to understand that withdrawal bleeding is often lighter than your regular flow.
The purpose of these combined contraceptive pills is to decrease the number of cycles a person has in a year.
Progestin-only pills are primarily considered an effective option for reducing heavy menstrual bleeding. This is because of its mechanism in preventing the growth of the uterine lining.
Most of the progestin-only pills, or minipills, are often packed with 28 active pills and zero inactive pills. Meaning, they are taken to deal with pregnancy prevention and menstrual cycle regulation. Rather, they have nothing to do with the placebo cycle as in combination pills. However, some newer packs of minipills do contain 24 active pills and 4 inactive pills, similar to combination pills.
These minipills are usually suggested to people who cannot take estrogen-based medications, such as individuals with high blood pressure, breastfeeding, blood clots, migraine with aura, stroke, and certain heart conditions. They may also be suitable for older women and women who have just given birth.
Remember that minipills are to be taken 1 in a day consistently – including the timing and the dosage, to have their benefits. As soon as your pack is finished, you have to start taking on another pack. Unlike combination pills, minipills are designed to be taken every day without any interruption. This may help in maintaining consistent hormone levels and preventing pregnancy.
Even though using menstrual pills with professional guidance is safe, it can sometimes cause side effects.
The menstrual period typically involves the process of shedding the grown uterine lining. If the growth of this lining is prevented, its shedding is ultimately prevented as well. Thus, delaying or postponing the period using menstrual pills is possible. However, there are certain side effects to doing it.
Common side-effects of postponing the period may include:
In rare scenarios, combination pills can develop serious side effects like:
The menstrual period typically involves the dropping of progesterone and estrogen levels. This natural occurrence usually happens in the woman’s body at the end of every menstrual cycle. However, using inactive combination pills, you can trigger the withdrawal bleeding.
Common side-effects of preponing the period may include:
Always remember to have a consultation with a skilled healthcare provider before taking menstrual pills. This can largely help ensure the safety of your reproductive health. They may also prescribe the right type of menstrual pills for your specific needs.
The safest ways to delay or postpone your period through hormonal birth control are:
If natural ways like consuming unripe papayas and pineapple don’t work in preponing your period, you can consider trying certain medical ways. This must, of course, be prescribed by the healthcare provider.
Menstrual pills can be a great option for women to manage their periods. Many experts revealed that using menstrual pills to either prepone or postpone menstruation does not have any long-term effects on their reproductive health. Most women return to their normal cycle within 3 to 6 months of discontinuing the medication. However, it is important to understand that frequent usage of menstrual pills can cause mild to severe side effects.
Having professional guidance regularly in using the menstrual pills can be a game-changer in maintaining your health.
1. How can I induce withdrawal bleeding?
You can induce withdrawal bleeding when hormone levels in your body change. The changes can generally take place soon after switching to the new menstrual medication or taking breaks in between hormonal pills. The breaks can either be not taking any hormonal pills or taking placebo pills.
2. Is it fine to delay the cycle further by avoiding inactive pills and taking only active pills?
If you prefer to postpone your menstruation further, you can certainly avoid the inactive pills and take only active pills. You can even continue taking the active pills from the new pack once the existing pack is over with active pills. This does not cause any impact on the effectiveness of the oral contraceptive pills.
3. Apart from withdrawal bleeding, when will I get my period after stopping menstrual pills?
After stopping to take hormonal menstrual pills, you are likely to get withdrawal bleeding, which is a period-like bleeding. When it comes to your regular period, it may generally take a few weeks to months to resume its natural monthly cycle. The deviations may typically take place predominantly by the type of pills you were taking and your overall health.
It is essential to understand that your body takes time to return to its normal state after stopping the hormonal menstrual pills. Also, you might notice your period to be longer and heavier after withdrawal bleeding than your usual period.
4. Will hormonal menstrual pills impact my fertility health?
The answer to the question is no. Hormonal menstrual pills do not impact your fertility health. However, some individuals might experience a delay in their conception soon after stopping the menstrual pills. This is a short-term side effect and does not affect your ability to become pregnant.
5. When will I get my period after taking placebo pills?
You may generally get your period within two to three days of taking placebo pills. Furthermore, the withdrawal bleeding may precede for about three to five days. This may typically vary depending on your body’s hormone levels and the type of pills you are taking. Withdrawal bleeding can sometimes last for seven days, and can even be absent in rare scenarios.
