I am recently engaged and my chatan and I would like to get married in a bit under three months. Do I need to take pills to avoid being niddah at the wedding? How do I go about it? When should I start?
Mazal tov on your recent engagement!
Not all brides require the use of birth control pills to ensure there will not be a chupat niddah at the wedding.
If your cycle is pretty regular, and you can schedule the wedding for a date which will be at least seven days after you expect all bleeding to have ceased, you do not need to regulate your cycle with the pill.
If your cycle is pretty regular and the date you wish to schedule your wedding is around the time you expect your period, you can take progesterone for a few days before your wedding to ensure you don’t get your period until after you consummate the marriage. You should go to a gynecologist, who can prescribe the pills and instruct you on when to take them.
However, if your cycle is irregular, or if you need to schedule the wedding for a time when you expect to be niddah, you may use birth control pills before the wedding to regulate your cycle. Since it is common to experience staining during the first 1-3 cycles as your body adjusts to the hormones, you should go to a gynecologist as soon as possible so that you may start the pill right away.
We recommend showing your doctor our article on hormonal cycle manipulation for brides, which you may print it from the section of our website designed for medical professionals, Jewish Women’s Health. It is important that s/he understands that you need to regulate your cycle so that your wedding date will be at least seven days after the end of your period.
Please feel free to get back to us with any further questions.
B’Hatzlacha!
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