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Women's health had a huge breakthrough this month.

Wyeth, a pharmaceutical corporation, was granted federal approval for its new birth-control pill named Lybrel, which stops a women's period completely. The drug takes about six months to have full effect and must be taken daily to retain the no-period benefit. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, doesn't it?

As the mother of a 25-year-old woman, this new drug worries me. I've been looking on the Internet for any mention of a long-term study of the effects of Lybrel and have come up empty.

Wyeth says the drug is safe, using two low-dose hormones that are already on the market. There is no mention whether Lybrel should be used only by women of a certain age group or any other restrictions besides the known risks of women who smoke or have a family history of breast cancer or blood clots.

This lack of publicly available prescribing guidelines makes me uneasy for young women these days. Could a doctor prescribe Lybrel to free young women from having to endure periods during high school? Will the drug hide the fact of pregnancy for a longer time, which could cause complications for the fetus? Will the long-term use of Lybrel affect the strength, integrity and ability of the uterus to carry a child?

The use of Lybrel denies the female body a normal life-event that occurs for a purpose. My mother gave me a little booklet when it came time for me to learn "the facts of life." The booklet talked about how monthly periods prepare a girl's body for the job of motherhood by exercising the uterus and ovaries. This made sense to me, because regular ovulation points to the ability to have children. The period itself is an exercise in giving birth, as the uterus functions as a muscle to expel its contents.

If these functions are stopped at an early age - say, 16 - and are not started again until the female wants a child at the age of 30, will these organs function the same as a woman who's had a period every month for nearly 15 years?

These questions and many more have been running through my mind since the announcement of Lybrel's FDA approval. My daughter is ready to go on the drug as soon as it's released. Many women feel Lybrel is a major leap in women's birth-control rights. I agree, but I want to know more.

Releasing a new drug is a tricky thing. It's dangerous to use the unsuspecting public as guinea pigs to learn about long-term effects. After the Vioxx drug debacle and the new inquiry regarding heart-attack risks with the diabetic drug Avandia, there is one question I would like to ask: What is the hurry?