Started birth control pack late

[scarletlettera]

So, I have been on the pill for over a year now, but last week was my first time ever skipping pills. I was supposed to start a new pack on a Saturday but did not realize I didn't have any refills and couldn't pick up a new pack until the following Monday. I was unsure of what to do (but now I feel dumb since I should've read the instructions that came with the pack) and just took one that Monday and one every single day afterwards. However, I did have unprotected sex after taking the pill 7 days straight, but my boyfriend did not ejaculate in me.. How high are my chances of being pregnant?

[Mo]

As you say, it's always a good idea to refer to your pill insert first as it will have a lot of good information on situations like this. If I understand correctly, you missed two pills (Saturday and Sunday) and then started your new pack as normal on Monday?

Once you've missed two pills you are experiencing reduced protection from the pill, but many pills are either at or near full effectiveness after a week of proper use, which it sounds like you had before having sex. So, it's hard to say if you had an increased risk of pregnancy from that incident. Since your boyfriend didn't ejaculate in you, the risk isn't that high to begin with, so I wouldn't worry too much. However, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go ahead and back up with condoms for the rest of this pack, especially since not every type of pill is fully effective at one week. You can probably do a search for your brand online and find a copy of that informational insert.

Most doctors are fine writing a prescription for an "extra" pill pack, so that you can have a spare one on hand at all times to help prevent accidents like this one; you may want to ask yours if they'd be willing to do that.