Birth Control Pill...Pregnancy?

[Tinasha]

Hi, I have a few questions on birth control pills, pregnancy and sex.

1.) What is the time frame for taking regular birth control pills? I usually take them between 10pm to 1am and I'm scared that might drastically affect protection.

2.) Would you still have the "fake" period if you get pregnant on the pill? I have been searching and found that some women experienced regular periods while on the pill and was pregnant.

3.) What is considered 'unprotected sex'? I have read a statistic on couples who have unprotected sex and about 80% become pregnant within a year. Would a woman on birth control be considered unprotected sex because they're not using a condom?

[Sam W]

Hi Tinasha,

With the pills, you have a 12 hour grace period before one is even considered late, so a few hours difference would not harm the effectiveness. And no, if you were pregnant, you would not get your withdrawl bleed.

As far as unprotected sex, generally speaking that's sex where no method of contraception is used (although in terms of being protected from STIs, unprotected sex would be where there is no barrier method, like a condom, used).