What Happens If You Take Birth Control Late

What Counts As A Late Pill?

Q: I'm on nativity command and I'm two hours late taking today's pill. What practise I do?

Start up, we desire to say that this is a really common question that we become. Remembering to have your nativity command pill at the aforementioned fourth dimension every day can be tricky. Although information technology sounds like a straightforward matter to do, information technology's actually really easy for a one thousand thousand other life things to become in the mode of taking the pill. So for starters, nosotros just desire to say that we hope y'all're giving yourself a break on this!

Okay, and so at present the technical stuff. It'due south of import to have your pill at roughly the same time every day to brand sure that your body is getting a consistent amount of nascency control hormones. Keeping these hormones at a regular level is how your torso knows to terminate ovulating, and therefore stops you from getting meaning. And yep, sometimes people forget and are late taking their pill. It's also possible to be and so late taking it that it's the same as non taking it at all. So how late is besides late? That can depend on what week you're on. The beneath table gives some suggestions for what to practise if you lot miss a pill during Weeks 2-4 of your pack.

How Late?	Recommended Activeness	Example
Less than 24 hours	Take the pill you lot missed at your adjacent opportunity. Have your next pill as regularly scheduled.	Say you accept the pill at 11:00am every mean solar day, but you missed Mon'southward pill. Take Monday's pill when yous realize that you missed information technology (even if it'south at 10:30am on Tuesday), then take Tuesday'south pill at 11:00am.
Betwixt 24-48 hours	Accept your side by side pill as regularly scheduled. At the same time, have the pill y'all missed. Utilise a backup method (condoms, VCF, etc) for 7 days while hormones return to protective levels.	Say it's 1:45pm on Tuesday, and you realize that you missed both Mon and Tuesday's pills. You can take both Mon and Tuesday'southward pills at the same fourth dimension.
More than 48 hours	Take your next pills every bit regularly scheduled. Use a backup method for 7 days while hormones return to protective levels.	If it's Midweek and you lot realize that you've missed all of your pills and so far this week, just take your Wednesday pill at eleven:00am as usual. And so try to take Th's pill at eleven:00am, Fri's at 11:00am, etc. Consider using condoms or Vaginal Contraceptive Flick or other back-up nascence control methods for 7 days if yous are concerned well-nigh a risk of pregnancy.

What virtually birth control pill packaging will tell you is that if you miss taking it one day, you should take the belatedly pill correct away, and then take the next pill at the right time. Sometimes this means you lot'll exist taking two pills on the same day, and that's okay! Some people might experience the regular hormonal birth control side-furnishings for a twenty-four hour period or two (more than info on those here: Link), but there are no long-term complications that come from doubling up. To avoid getting an upset tum, information technology can help to consume some food start. Taking 3 or more than isn't dangerous, but the spike in hormones merely gets harder on your trunk the more pills you take at once, and more often than not isn't recommended. But taking two is fine, and you don't need to take any additional steps in order to exist considered protected from pregnancy.

If yous're more than 48 hours tardily taking any pills, we would recommend using a back-upwardly nativity control method (like internal/external condoms or vaginal contraceptive film) for a calendar week to ensure you're protected while the hormones levels get back to a consistent level.

****Please Note****

If you lot're taking Progestin Simply pills, then you lot practice not have the same window of protection for when you lot miss pills (it's roughly 3 hours). If you are late or skip taking a progestin only pill, we'd recommend post-obit the in a higher place instructions merely likewise using a redundancy method for a few days after if you lot are going to be having sexual activity where there'southward a adventure of pregnancy.
If you miss a pill during Week 4 (the placebo week) you do non need to worry near doubling up since these are but sugar pills that are but there to aid y'all maintain the addiction. No big bargain if you lot miss those!

What if it's during Calendar week 1?

Non taking the pill for more than vii days is long enough for your trunk to exist considered "Hormone-Free." Being Hormone Complimentary is the aforementioned as if y'all weren't taking the pill, which means your hormone aren't yet at their protective levels yet. While the pill is designed to protect you lot from pregnancy during all four weeks of the pack, the doubling up might non be constructive if you miss a pill during Calendar week i. And so if you miss a pill during Calendar week 1, we'd recommend doubling up AND using a back-upward birth control method for the next seven days to protect confronting pregnancy while your hormones level out over again.

If there is a risk of pregnancy during Week 1 or days where you missed a pill more than 48 hours during Weeks 2-iv, you lot can take emergency contraception similar Programme B or Ella. These are effective at preventing pregnancy for up to five days. Some other option for emergency contraception could be getting a Copper IUD inserted within vii days of the pregnancy risk.

If you find that yous're regularly missing your pill, information technology might exist worth talking to your doctor about birth control options that tin better fit your lifestyle (like the ring or the patch or the shot or IUDs).

Related Teen Wellness Source Pages

Birth Control Pill [Link]
Emergency Contraceptive Pills [Link]
Birth Command: Finding the Best Fit [Link]

Resources

Bedsidder: Belatedly, late, for a very of import pill? [Link]
Get Ask Alice: Taking birth command pills — What counts as the "aforementioned time" every day? [Link]
Cornell Wellness: Missed a Nascency Control Pill? Here'southward what to exercise. [Link]

If you lot accept questions about this topic, experience free to contact one of our peer educators. [Link]

Final Updated: April 2020

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