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Entity shares what you should do if you forgot to take birth control pills.

It’s finally happened. You’ve been diligently taking your birth control pills when, suddenly, you realize you forgot. What’s a girl to do if she lost a birth control pill? Or missed one birth control pill and is now wondering, “Can I get pregnant?”

Take a deep breath and keep reading. Here’s what to do if you forgot to take birth control pills.

Which Pill Are You Taking?

First off, you need to know which kind of birth control pill you’re taking. The pill comes in two forms: the mini pill, which only contains progestin, and the more popular combination pill, which contains progestin and estrogen. Why does it matter?

Via GIPHY

First off, let’s take a quick trip back to high school sex ed. A woman’s fertility cycle is controlled by estrogen and progesterone. When your estrogen levels peak, you ovulate, or release an egg. When you’re taking estrogen (with the combination pills), though, you never ovulate. This means that there’s no egg for sperm to fertilize. These fun facts will come in handy later – I promise!

The type of birth control you use also determines how important it is for you to take your birth control at the same time. With a combined birth control pill, as long as you take your pill every day,  you’re fine. If you’re taking progestin-only pills, though, you need to take your pills at the exact same time every day. In fact, taking your pill only a few hours later than normal still increases your chances of becoming pregnant. Why? Progestin-only pills don’t stop ovulation. So, if more than 28 hours pass between pills, you could become a mother way earlier than you planned.

Keep in mind: although the failure rate of birth control pills is only 1-2 percent when taken correctly, it jumps to 5 percent when including the women who miss pills here and there.

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How Many Pills Did You Miss – and When?

So, you figured out which pill you take. Now what? It’s time to consider how many pills you’ve missed, or how many hours have passed since you usually take your birth control pill.

If you wake up Tuesday morning and realize you forgot to take birth control the day before, take Monday’s pill ASAP and the other (intended for Tuesday) at your usual time. Taking two pills in one day will boost your hormones back to the levels they should be. If you forgot to take birth control in the middle of your pack (anytime from day 3 to 21 in a 28-day pack), the CDC says you shouldn’t need any backup contraceptives. However, if you miss a pill in the beginning of your cycle, or the week before your placebo week, you might want to use a backup birth control for seven days…just to be safe!

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What about if you miss more than one pill? If you miss two or more, take a pill as soon as you remember and take the next one at your usual time. You’ll also need to use a seven-day backup method of birth control. And if you miss several pills in the last week before your placebo week, throw out the pack and start a new one. If you can’t start a new pack right away, use backup contraceptives until you’ve been taking your pills regularly for seven days.

What To Do Next?

Now you know what birth control pill you’re taking and what to do in different situations of forgetting to take it. But what’s the most important step after you forget to take birth control? Probably, it’s considering how you can remember to take your pills better in the future or what alternative contraceptives you could use.

Some ideas? You can set an alarm on your phone to remind you to take your pills. You can also put your pill box next to the fridge or your bathroom vanity – anyplace you regularly spend time at the same time every day.

Entity shares what you should do if you forgot to take birth control pills.

And, if pills aren’t working for you, there are plenty of other options, from (male and female) condoms to the birth control patch to the IUD. Don’t be afraid to find the birth control that is not only effective but also fits in well with your schedule and lifestyle.

When you realize you forgot to take birth control, it can be a scary feeling. However, as long as you’re aware of how of your birth control works and you pay attention to when you do (or don’t) take your pills, birth control pills can be a smart, functional and easy choice of contraceptive.

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