Birth control question

[Jellowl]

Hello!
I've been on the pill for almost a month now and have been told that after the first week of taking the pill correctly, you will have protection against pregnancy (even with this fact I will still be using condoms no matter what). I have been taking the pill at the same time every night, taken the right amount and have not missed a single pill. My question is if you have protected sex (condom combined with the birth control) and the condom happens to break, should you take emergancy contraception? Or does the birth control you're already taking do a good enough job in reducing your chance of being pregnant? Is there a health risk in taking both at the same time?

Thank you for the advice,
Have a nice day!

[Mo]

If you're taking your pill as directed, which you certainly are based on what you've said here, there's no reason to take emergency contraception. EC isn't going to do anything that your birth control pill isn't already doing - it's medically unnecessary in the situation you're describing.
We do recommend that people use a backup form of birth control if they don't want to become pregnant, and that's what you'd be doing here; if your condom did break you'd still have the full protection of your pill. If you want any info on proper condom use (which reduces the chance of a break happening by a great deal), you can find that here: Condom Basics: A User's Manual

[Jellowl]

Say I started the sugar pills of the pack on Sunday (8:00pm) and were to have sex mid Monday afternoon (let's say around 3:00pm), would I still have some lingering protection for the birth control pills or would I be unprotected? Is it safe to have sex the week of your sugar pills or should I keep away from sex all together? Keep in mind, condoms will always be used. Since this will be my first month of taking the pill, I suspect my period will be late and irregular during the placebo week.

Thanks for the advice!
Happy Holidays!

[Mo]

As long as you're taking your active pills as directed, you're just as covered during the sugar pill/placebo week as you are the rest of the time, so it's fine to have sex then if you want to. This article goes into the reasoning behind that & explains how the pill works in detail; you might find it helpful: How do birth control pills really work, even during the placebo period?

[Jellowl]

I got my period Tuesday morning on the week of the placebo. However, my period as of Thursday night seems to have stopped suddenly. Tuesday and Wednesday were heavy and a constant flow so I don't understand as to why it decided to stop. I usually had my period for about 5 days when I wasn't on the pill. Is my short period caused by me taking birth control pills for the first time? If so, will my body eventually get used to the pills and regulate my period?

Thanks, have a nice night!

[Onionpie]

Hi Jellowl. Yes, birth control does alter the length and flow of your period. After several months it will settle down into a regular pattern, although it may not be the same flow/length as your period was when you were not on the pill. For info on what to expect with the pill, and how it works, check this out: Combined Oral Contraceptives (The Pill)