1 Day Withdrawal Bleed

[daisygirl10]

i have been taken the pill (junel) for 4 months now and take it within 5 minutes of the same time everyday and have never missed one. I do engage in unprotected intercourse with my boyfriend but he uses withdrawal as an additional method. On Tuesday (of my placebo week) I had some light bleeding and assumed it was my withdrawal bleed. However, this morning I have seen nothing. Do I have a risk?

[Heather]

There isn't any one method or combination of methods that gives someone 10% protection against pregnancy with intercourse. So, there will always be some risk, but using any two methods properly makes that risk incredibly small.

That said, we're past the limit around talking with a user about pregnancy scares we state clearly in our registration agreement, so I need to hold that limit now with you. We're happy to talk with you about other things moving forward, but talk about pregnancy scares needs to be done. I'd strongly suggest given how often you've been worried about this that you either rethink what's really right for you in terms of what sexual activities you're choosing to engage in OR perhaps think about using a different, more effective, method than withdrawal if you think that that would leave you feeling better.

It's not at all unusual with periods or withdrawal bleeds for them to have slow, sporadic starts sometimes, just like it's not unusual for them to end that way.

[daisygirl10]

You're 100% right and I respect that. I was just curious about this situation because I take my pill religiously and don't understand why my bleeding is so light.

[daisygirl10]

Could you help explain to me why my withdrawal bleed was so light and short? I know I had a very very small risk because I am a perfect pill user and we use an additional backup method. I just am confused why my bleed was so similar to implantation bleeding. Could you help to shed some light please?

[Karyn]

It's common for people on the pill to have lighter bleeds, and sometimes those bleeds can be very light. If you're concerned, then your next step is to talk to a healthcare provider.