title: Skipping the pill-free interval: data from a Dutch national sample.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A monthly pill-free interval is unnecessary and many women prefer to have fewer bleeding episodes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight hundred eighteen oral contraceptive pill (OCP) users reported frequency of skipping the pill-free interval in the online 2011 Sexual Health in the Netherlands Survey. Demographics of women who skipped pill-free intervals regularly were compared to those of women who rarely skipped intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  73% of the women have ever skipped pill-free intervals and 38% do so regularly. Women of Dutch or Western origin and non-religious women skip intervals more frequently, but differences are small.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skipping pill-free intervals is common, even when it is not actively promoted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women who use OCPs can and do skip pill-free intervals, either with or without consulting a physician. If bleeding preferences were structurally discussed with patients, the number of women who skip intervals may increase even further.
authors.affiliation: Rutgers WPF, PO Box 9022, 3506 GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: charles.picavet@zonner.nl.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Picavet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal
keywords: Oral contraceptive pill; Pill-free interval; Population-based; Socio-demographic characteristics