Missed a pill
Lots of girls forget to take a pill sometimes. Or they’ve vomited or had diarrhea, so the pill is less effective.
Are you still protected?
Whether you’re at risk of becoming pregnant depends on the week when you missed a pill and how many pills you missed. If you’ve vomited or had diarrhea, that also counts as missing a pill.
Check this first:
– ‘Missing a pill’ means: more than 12 hours later than you would have taken it. So that’s more than 36 hours after the previous pill. If it’s the first pill in the strip, then it shouldn’t be taken more than 24 hours too late.
– If you’ve vomited or had watery diarrhoea, that also counts as missing a pill.
Every pills and mini pill (28-day blister strip)
Does your blister strip have 3 different pills in it (different color for each week)? Or more than 21 pills in a strip?
Then the instructions in the pack will tell you what to do. You can also ask your doctor, or The Public Health Nurse can help advice you.
Do you often miss a pill?
Perhaps a different kind of contraceptive would suit you better. Ask your doctor or call the Public Health Nurse to discuss other options.
Have you had sex?
If you’ve had penis-in-vagina sex and semen got into your vagina, talk to your doctor or contact the Public Health nurse for advice.
There is a greater risk of pregnancy:
- If you just started taking the pill.
- If you missed the 1st pill after the pill-free week.
- If you’ve forgotten to take 1 or more pills in the 1st week of your pill strip.
- If you’ve missed a pill twice or more in a short period.
- If you’ve forgotten a pill once before from the same pill strip.