Scarleteen

hey there,
let's start off with that I take birth control pills (belara, to be exact) but something is bugging me for quite a while now.
i know that combined pills have a 12-hour windown for each take, so if i take my pill at 9pm and other day i take it let's say at 2am, i am still protected from pregnancy. is that correct?
also, i knooow i shouldn't worry about pregnancy if there is no penetration involved, BUT even though my brain actually gets that i can't be pregnant on the pill, i can't really understand how this anxiety still comes back at some point. i once read somewhere that a girl took pills but somehow still ended up getting knocked up because the pill actually didn't supress ovulation in both tubes, only in one, so the "free" one spit out some eggs and she got preggers. jesus lord
so, my question is: can i fully trust my pill if i take it everyday ~same time (it's 2-3 days when i took it like 6-7 hours later) and enjoy sex without the pregnancy anxiety? thanks a lot

Here's the thing: the pill -- nor any birth control method -- is not 100% effective. It's just not. So, we can't expect it to be. That's why there absolutely will still be people, and plenty of them, particularly since typical use effectiveness of the pill alone is about 91%, and millions of people use it, who become pregnant while using the pill.

If we want or need 100% protection from pregnancy we need to simply not do the activities that can create pregnancy. That's just the only way to get that level of protection.

But if we are cool with getting very close to 100%, we do have some options:
1) We can use on of the single methods that is close to that level of effectiveness in *typical* use, not perfect use (because few living humans outside of lab conditions will be able to keep up with what's required for perfect use, especially for a whole year at a time, which is how that's measured). Those methods would be the IUD, implant, or vasectomy or tubal ligation (though the latter should be considered permanent).
2) We can combine TWO highly effective methods and use them properly and consistently, such as the pill + condoms.

Another thing, though, is that this may or may not solve for your anxiety: anxiety often doesn't respond to facts, because it's not happening because of a lack of facts. And pregnancy anxiety often isn't just about -- or at all about -- pregnancy in the first place. What's most likely to help with any anxiety you're having isn't birth control, but mental healthcare or other anxiety helps.

That all said, your pill will be at its most effective the way that you are already using it. You're right, that you have up to 12 hours difference before it is considered late (and 24 before it's considered missed) and that it is totally okay to take it any time in that 12 hour window. But if you want pregnancy protection that's as close to 100% as you can get while still having intercourse, you will need to use either the pill AND another method (condoms usually are easiest, plus they also give STI protection no other method can) or move up to a more effective method.

Make sense?

thanks a lot!