Very late pill

[marybe]

Hey! I was supposed to take the first pill after the 7 days break 3 days ago, but i took it 13 hours late. I was supposed to take it by 10:30pm last wednesday but i only took it by 11:30am on thursday. I had sex thursday, friday and today (saturday). Do you think i should take the emergency pill?? Or does the pill still give me protection even tho it was the first pill after the break??? Answer fast please

[Sam W]

Hi Marybe,

The pill is designed to give you equal levels of protection on all days of your pack. As for taking it late, to quote from this article Three questions about taking the birth control pill (and plenty of answers) , "A "late" pill varies more in definition among various sources, and to some degree from pill to pill, but with any type of pill, if you have taken a pill more than 12-24 hours late, you may want to consider using a backup method of birth control for the rest of your cycle to play it safe." However, there's also the fact that this was your first active pill of the new pack, so it's really the one setting what time you'll be taking your pill each day.

Given all that, it's unlikely that emergency contraception is needed in this situation. However, if you'd feel safer taking it, it is an option available to you. Are you currently backing up your pill with condoms at all?

[marybe]

I have been taking my pills normally, i did as i read and took the pill as soon as i remembered and then kept taking the rest of the pills normally. I have been having unprotected sex most of the time but he pulls out and sometimes we use condoms.

[Sam W]

Are you feeling comfortable with that level of protection, or would you feel more comfortable backing up with condoms every time (this is something we generally recommend, since it adds an extra layer of protection)? You can compare the levels of protection offered by combining different methods here: The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Second Method .

Since there's been unprotected sex, are you and he up to date on your STI testing?

[marybe]

My only concern is about the risk of pregnancy, since he came inside me a lot of times after i took my late pill. Should i take the emergency pill now? (Its been around 52 hours since the first relations)

[Sam W]

It's unlikely that you had decreased effectiveness from your pill given the timing and the fact you followed your pill pack's directions for a late pill, but if you'd feel safer adding in the extra protection from emergency contraception, that option is still available to you (you can take it up to five days after an incident).

I understand that pregnancy is your main concern, but since unprotected sex poses a risk of STI transmission, if neither of you knows your STI status, getting tested would also be a sound idea.