bcp and withdrawal bleeding

[kudfc6f5duxc]

Im sure this is a silly question but i can't find the answer anywhere….

i had sex on the last day of taking my pill and he came inside of me…id taken them regularly but i had had some breakthrough bleeding in the month so i think I'm going to change the pill I'm on (or could it be due to stress?). Since i had taken it correctly i assume i should not ovulate, but if i did conceive, would i still be pregnant because since i have my period/withdrawal bleed theres no lining for it to attach on to, or is this not the case?

thanks

[Johanna]

If you are taking the pill as directed, it offers a very high level of protection, including during the withdrawal week. Spotting does not mean that your protection is compromised.

[Redskies]

Just adding to what Johanna said, to make sure everything's clear:

I think when you said "conceive" above, you were referring to the fertilisation of an egg, right? Conception is actually the process of becoming pregnant, when the fertilised egg implants in the uterine wall. (I know some people talk about the "moment of conception" and they're talking about fertilisation, but they're not talking scientifically and not using the correct term for the correct thing. It's easy to pick that up, but it's not correct. )

You're absolutely right that if you're taking the pill correctly, you can fully expect not to ovulate. Some people - again, people who are making a mistake! - talk about pill-taking as if ovulation is a reasonable possibility, but that's very misleading. When someone's taking the pill correctly, it's very, very unlikely they're going to ovulate, because one major way the pill works is to prevent ovulation. So, any thought process that sounds like "even if I ovulated..." isn't needed and doesn't apply.

The fertility cycle involves a bunch of hormones all sending messages to each other to do or not do different things. A period (or withdrawal bleed, on the pill) happens because your hormones have sent each other messages saying "no fertilised egg has attached in here: time to clear out!" So, not only does a bleed demonstrate you can't be pregnant, it happens because you're not pregnant. Conversely, when someone has become pregnant, all the hormones send and receive messages that say "fertilised egg attached here, folks! Time to build a good home and gather supplies!", and so the person doesn't have a bleed.