Women CAN take contraceptive pill every day of the month says NHS because traditional seven-day break was only brought in to keep the Pope happy
- The new guidance comes from Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare
- The break was previously required to ‘make it acceptable for Catholics to use’
- Scientists added that taking the pill with fewer breaks may reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies
The NHS has now assured women that it is safe to take the contraceptive pill every day of the month without any risk.
According to the new guidance from the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), the seven-day break that was previously required in order to ‘make it acceptable for Catholics to use’, provides little benefit to the user.
The new guidelines by the body responsible for setting safe prescription guidelines in the UK now state there is no health benefit in taking the historic seven-day break.
The new guidance from the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) has assured women that it is safe to take the contraceptive pill every day of the month
Scientists have added that taking the pill with fewer breaks may even help reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.
Professor of Family Planning and Reproductive Health at University College London John Guillebaud dismissed the way the pill has been taken for the past 60 years.
Professor Guillebaud has performed around 5000 vasectomies using the favoured ‘No-scalpel’ technique and has co-authored more than 300 publications.
As well as studying and performing procedures for women, he has also being involved in looking into a promising non-hormonal male pill.
He told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘The gynaecologist John Rock devised [the break] because he hoped that the Pope would accept the pill and make it acceptable for Catholics to use.’
The pioneering John Rock, who was the first scientist to fertilise a human egg in a test tube, was a monumental force in the development of the contraceptive pill.
Alongside Dr. Gregory Pincus and Dr. M. C. Chang, the American doctor was a key player in the clinical tests conducted on inhibiting ovulation during the creation of the pill.
In an annual Royal College of General Practitioners conference in 2017 the professor had shared his support for offering the pill every day of the year.
He added: ‘How could it be that for 60 years we have been taking the pill in a sub-optimal way because of this desire to please the Pope?’
The new Nice-approved guidelines will now see leaflets informing women on the effectiveness of taking combined hormonal contraception being given out by the Family Planning Association.
If the guidelines are followed, medical experts can expect to see the contraceptive pill more widely available across the country.
The new guidelines now state there is no health benefit in taking the historic seven-day break, with scientists adding that taking the pill with fewer breaks may even help reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies