What: When you are taking hormonal birth control and have your week of placebo pills, you aren’t technically getting a period then. You are getting a “withdrawal” bleed, which is typically lighter than a full-blown period because you aren’t ovulating.

Why it matters: “’It’s not medically necessary to have a withdrawal bleed every month,’ Dr Wild explains. ‘Early pill regimes were designed like this to mimic a natural menstrual cycle, but it’s safe to take them for longer before having a break.’”

Source: Cosmopolitan