Women's attitudes towards monthly bleeding: results of a global population-based survey

Monthly bleeding can be uncomfortable and inconvenient. Fifty years after the introduction of the pill, one wonders whether women still want to bleed every month.

Cross-national online survey of women aged 15-49 years (N = 4039) who were currently using, had used or would consider using a hormonal contraceptive. The survey was conducted in eight countries across Europe, North America and Latin America to assess attitudes towards monthly bleeding.

Almost one-third of women reported that bleeding had a severe negative impact on their daily life, particularly with respect to sexual life and sports activities. Approximately 60% of women would, at least sometimes, like to postpone their bleeding and 50% wished they had the flexibility to determine when their menstrual bleeding starts. Overall, 34% of women would change the frequency of their bleeding to once every two or three months.

Past, current or future users of hormonal contraception reported that bleeding has a severe negative impact on daily life. Given the choice, most women surveyed would reduce the frequency of their bleeding.