Birth Control Effectiveness

[ojh22]

I know with the Combined Birth Control pill, you should take it the same time every day. But is there a window where if you take it later it is still effective? Also, if you take it past that window one day, but start up at the same time continuously every day afterwards, when will it be effective again? Thank you!

[Heather]

The reason to take it around the same time is actually just to make forgetting to take it harder. A pill isn't actually even a late pill until it's more than 12 hours late, and isn't a missed pill until 24 hours have passed.

So long as you use your pill ahead of those windows, and don't make other errors, you'll tend to have somewhere between the 91% typical use and 99% perfect use rate the combined pill provides.

[ojh22]

So does that mean that taking the pill late or missing the pill would lean someone more towards the typical use, and taking it in the appropriate windows leans more towards perfect use? Just hypothetically speaking!

[Sam W]

Hi Ojh,

More or less. Typical use is what people, well, typically do. Which given what we know about how people take the pill usually involves taking a pill late or missing one here or there. Perfect use is something that really only exists under lab conditions, but the more carefully you take your pill, the more you keep the effectiveness on the higher end.

[ojh22]

Also, although this is an unrelated question, how long after conception would a women start to experience pregnancy symptoms? I've heard that the first is a missed period, but would it be possible to have frequent urination, vomiting, or cramping a week or more after conception and before the missed period? I never understood the timeline (sorry for all the questions)!
Thank you!

[Stephanie]

We have a pregnancy scare policy here. I'm not going to lock your post in case you had any other BC questions since that was your OP, but the thread will be locked if there are any other pregnancy scare questions. This is our policy message:

We will not answer ANY questions about pregnancy fear or anxiety in our direct services from users who are not pregnant or who are not or have not otherwise been directly involved with an actual pregnancy.

Please do not post this kind of question. If you are seeing this text, and your thread is locked, it is because you have posted this kind of question.

We CAN and WILL talk about things like:
• choosing and using a method or methods of contraception for any future sexual activity
• creating your own sexual limits and boundaries based on your needs and/or presenting them to any partners
• making sexual choices that suit your own needs, abilities and limitations, including your own readiness for certain possible risks
• help locating or using emergency contraception if and when you have had a pregnancy risk
• discussing options with a real, existing pregnancy, and help finding and accessing those options, such as abortion services and pre-natal care, or discussing feelings or concerns about a past pregnancy
• help with anxiety like locating mental health services, sound self-help or asking for support from friends or family

For help dealing with a scare (including what poses a risk and your next steps based on your unique situation), you may use our tool on site built for this purpose: The Pregnancy Panic Companion.
For help with anxiety, click here.
For related help and information at Scarleteen, click here.
If you would like more information about this policy, click here.