Scarleteen

If you miss a combination birth control pill (as in completely missed, not taken when remembered) can you have unprotected intercourse 7 days after missing the pill and be protected?

I don't have unprotected sex, but in the instance that the condom broke, I'm just curious. Your website is very helpful!

Hi smoore,

In this instance, the thing to have done was consult the information that came with your pills about what to do in the event of a missed pill (just to check, are you describing a "what if" scenario here or something that happened to you?)

I take my birth control pills at 9:30 every night. Not this past Sunday but the one before (the 20th) I fell asleep early and when my alarm went off I don't remember waking up and taking my pill but the pill was no longer in the pack and I couldn't find it in my bedroom anywhere so I'm assuming I took it but I called my doctor to see if I could take a pill from an extra pack of pills that I had and she said no just to use a condom as back up, which I do. But I was curious how long after missing that pill, if I did miss it, will it be before I'm protected again in the instance that the condom broke?

Also I checked my pill pack and it just says something about missed pills (to take them when you remember) I didn't see where it says something like my case.

And I'm not sure if it makes a difference but the pill that I might have missed was the 2nd Sunday in my pack. I'm a Sunday starter.

Missing one pill doesn't mean that you no longer have any protection against pregnancy. Situations like these are factored into "typical use" which would still mean that in a year, the pill is 91% effective at preventing pregnancy. The typical use effectiveness rate takes into account that people make mistakes and likely will not take their pill perfectly, either being late or missing one here and there. If you like more info you can check that out here: http://www.scarleteen.com/birth_control ... ation_pill

I didn't know if that counted for missing a pill completely.. Which I don't know if I missed it but I didn't have a pill to take in case so I was just trying to be on the safe side. If I waited 7 days from the time I might have missed the pill, would the effectiveness be back up? I normally take the pill every night at the same exact time.

Just continue to follow the instructions that your doctor gave you for backing up with a condom. So if they said 7 days, continue for 7 days. Anytime you are concerned about the effectiveness of your birth control you should use a back up method. We also recommend condoms in general because it protects against STI's.

That being said, although you will continue to be protected by your pill if you take as instructed, I can not tell you the exact level of protection you will have in 7 days since effectiveness rates are for a years use, not pill to pill. So if you have not taken your pill perfectly (which would be the case if you did not take that pill), and most people do not, you can figure in a year you have at least the typical level of protection which is 91%.

I'm sorry if I'm being confusing.. I know in my pill pack it says if you miss a pill take it when you remember and you don't need a back up.. If you miss two pills you have to have a 7 day back up. It's just confusing since the pill pack doesn't give instructions for completely missing a pill but I didn't know if after 7 days I would be able to have unprotected sex (which I don't but I want to be sure I'm protected in case the condom breaks). Does that make sense?

If you just completely missed a pill and did not make it up, the best bet for the rest of the pack -- until you are in a new pack -- would be to back up with a second method.

Really, worrying about if the condom breaks doesn't make much sense, because when used properly, breaks are very, very unlikely. So, instead of worrying it might, you just want to use it properly so that it doesn't. Make sense?