New innovations, methods improving on `the pill'.

Byline: Sherry Jacobson

DALLAS _ Many women soldiers are carrying large quantities of birth control pills to Iraq, hoping that by taking the pill continuously they can eliminate their monthly periods while they fight a war.

It's not a new idea for how to use the pill, says Andrew Kaunitz, a Florida obstetrician-gynecologist who has written birth control prescriptions for some of the soldiers.

"It comes down to a lifestyle choice for women who, due to a job or recreational reasons, prefer to bleed less often," he says of the practice. "Female soldiers in a desert setting with a lack of sanitary supplies would have a good reason to suspend menstruation indefinitely."

Women have been manipulating their menstrual cycles for years, either hoping to prevent pregnancy or to control their monthly discomfort. But the decision to use the Pill nowadays is no longer so easy, or so automatic.

Not only are there more than 40 kinds of pills on the market today, but women shopping for birth control face even more options. In the past two years, the birth control menu has grown to include the vaginal contraceptive ring (NuvaRing), a new monthly injection (Lunelle) and the contraceptive patch (Ortho Evra).

And earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the latest idea for female contraception: an oral contraceptive called Seasonale that is taken for 84 consecutive days, allowing women to limit their periods to just four times a year.

"Everybody wants something different," says Dr. Paul Blumenthal of Johns Hopkins University. "If we only had the pill, we know it's a pretty safe and effective method. But every tweak in contraceptive methods is aimed at meeting people's needs and improving compliance."

Almost since it came onto the market in 1960, oral contraception has been the favored form of reversible birth control for millions of American women. This year alone, an estimated 16 million…