Scarleteen

Hey, I have a question about the effectiveness of birth control (the pill) before the first 7 days. I've tried to do so much research but the only thing I see is that it's only effective after 7 days, but it doesn't really make sense to me. Are the first 6 days completely ineffective, no changes in your body at all and after the 7th pill everything just kicks in? Or does it start making changes right away, but it's just not going to be 99%(?) effective? For example, would it be like, first day is 8% effective, 2 days is 20% effective, 3 days is 30% effective, 4 days is 40% effective, 5 days is 60%, 6 days is 80, then the 7 days is the full 99? This is an example, but hopefully it explains what I'm trying to say here. Basically, I'm asking if it's any useful at all during the first 6 days.

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm curious because to me it doesn't make sense for it to just "kick in" after 7 pills. Because they're the same pills as the ones you keep taking after the 7 days, so why would those be absolutely inactive until the 7th day, you know?

Also, another quick question I have is the possibility of pregnancy from precum. I know that it is definitely possible, but I've also been reading that it's pretty rare/unlikely for that to actually happen. Does anyone know how true that is or the chances of actually getting pregnant by it? I'm curious about this too, haha. Thanks in advance!

Hi ax,

I think part of the reason you're having trouble finding this answer is that the length of time it takes the pill to reach full effectiveness can sometimes vary based on a person's body chemistry, the specific brand of pill, and what method of starting it you use. All those factors mean it's really hard to get percentages like the ones you used as an example. The best answer I can give is that, if there is some degree of protection offered in those first few days, it's so low that every manufacturer agrees that you have to wait at least a week for it to give you enough protection to rely on it without back-up (we, and many other resources, recommend waiting a full cycle before going without back-up, just to err on the side of caution).

Part of why it takes at least seven days for that to happen is that the pill has to communicate with your body the changes it wants to happen, which take some time to set in motion.

As for those worries about pre-ejaculate, Heather offers a good rundown of when it's most likely to cause pregnancy and why it's less likely to cause it than ejaculate: https://www.scarleteen.com/article/advi ... _pregnancy