Relief may be on the way for women who dread their monthly period.

Seasonale, a new oral contraceptive developed at Eastern Virginia Medical Center in Norfolk, Va., could reduce the female menstrual cycle from 13 to four times each year.

Seasonale, produced by Barr Laboratories, is currently being tested by the Food and Drug Administration and could be made available by the end of the year.

Greg Yeakel, chief staff pharmacist at the Thielen Student Health Center, said he is excited about the new option. “We’ll get it stocked as soon as we can,” he said. “I think a lot of women will be interested.”

Kendall Dillon, director of communications for Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa, said Seasonale works similarly to other birth control pills.

“The woman would be taking the active pills much longer than now,” she said.

Current birth control pills are taken for 21 days and then a placebo is taken for seven days. With Seasonale, the active pills would be taken for 84 days, then the seven-day placebo is taken, Dillon said.

According to IVillagehealth. com, Seasonale contains a combination of estrogen and progestin, both commonly used in other oral contraceptives, but in significantly lower doses.

Yeakel said Seasonale is monophasic, compared to the popular pill Ortho Tri-Cyclen, which is triphasic.

“Monophasic is just one level all the time, which works best,” he said.

Yeakel said some women have concerns over tampering with their cycles.

“Women believe they need to bleed every 28 days,” he said.

However, Yeakel said prolonging menstruation has limited negative effects.

“Beyond three months, some women may have a problem with breakthrough bleeding,” he said.

Studies show that use of birth control pills can have positive benefits. According to IVillagehealth.com, “Skipping or decreasing the frequency of periods can help to prevent anemia and endometriosis — a common cause of pelvic pain and infertility — and may also reduce the risk of ovarian and cervical cancer.”

IVillage states that Seasonale is a new take on a common off-label use of birth control pills.

“For years, some gynecologists have assured their patients that it’s safe to take birth control pills continuously through two months in order to avoid a period that some patients might consider inconvenient. By skipping the seven placebo pills, some women have been skipping out on menstruation for many years,” the Web site said.

Dillon said she believes Seasonale will appeal to many women.

“A lot of women see their period as an annoyance and anything that reduces that is a good thing,” she said.

Yeakel encourages female students to visit the Student Health Center and take advantage of student health discount prices. “There are a host of new birth control products,” he said.