21 minutes late on the first combined birth control pill of the month

[MigueLMichaeL]

Hi I'm back and I'm sorry but my girlfriend changed her mind and have decided to continue the birth control pill. Will she still be protected if she took the very first pill of the month 20 minutes late? Does the 24 hour window (combined pills) still work for the first day of the pack?

[Sofi]

Hi MigueLMichaeL,

If she has been consistently taking the pill at the same time every day but was 20 minutes late this once, you shouldn't worry. 20 minutes is still a safe time frame. That being said, we have suggested you start using condoms as a backup (on top of your girlfriend taking the pill). I highly recommend doing this.
Here is a useful article about backing up your primary birth control method: https://www.scarleteen.com/article/sexu ... ol_with_a_

It is important you feel secure and comfortable having sex rather than constantly being scared of a pregnancy. Being this worried every time you have sex will only cause stress, but if you use protection responsibly you can feel more at ease. May I ask, is there a particular reason you don't use condoms as a backup?

[MigueLMichaeL]

even though it is the very first day of the pack? She's using Althea (a local version of Diane 35) and it has 21 active pills so she just finished the 7 day break and took the first pill today. We actually use condoms when we're having sex. I'm just a bit worried since we've had done it orally and she isn't the type to worry about things like this so she might've got some on her underwear.

[Heather]

Hey, Miguel. I know you spoke to Mo in text today, too, so I just want to let you know where we're willing to take this from here if you want to keep talking.

This post and others from you have a history of being about pregnancy scares, and it's our policy not to engage in those in the way you are asking us to, so please understand we won't engage with them in those ways from here on out.

However, I -- and the rest of the staff -- would be glad to talk to you about this anxiety, see if we can't sort out where it's coming from and then give you suggestions about how to effectively deal with it and make choices that are more likely to help than keep it going. Generally, if two birth control methods aren't enough for someone to stop worrying about pregnancy, something bigger is underneath that BC can't solve for.