

If you miss any of the first 21 pills in your pack you need to use an alternate birth control method, such as a condom, for the next seven days. Progestin-only pills must be taken at the same time each day. What if you take your birth control pill late? In fact, being even 12 hours late in taking your birth control pill increases your chances of getting pregnant. As long as you take your pills every day at roughly the same time you're protected. Until your body gets used to the hormones it will do weird things. Using oral contraceptive such as birth control pills can cause the menstruation cycle to begin at an earlier time than usual, especially if you skip a pill or two, since the hormones produced by the body become disrupted by the artificial hormones in the pill. Taking it late by 20-30 minutes is not a problem. If you should have taken your pill 3 or more hours ago, take it as soon as you remember.Ĭan you start your period early on birth control? A shift in the balance of hormones is often the culprit of early period cycles. What happens if you take your birth control late?Ĭan I start my birth control a day late? You’ll need to use a backup form of birth control for 2 days if you’re more than 3 hours late to take a pill or miss any number of pills. If you should have taken your pill 3 or more hours ago, take it as soon as you remember. Any type of hormone-based birth control can have an effect on your body, and common side effects of stopping birth control can include bleeding, irregular periods, and cramps.Ĭan I start my birth control a day late? You’ll need to use a backup form of birth control for 2 days if you’re more than 3 hours late to take a pill or miss any number of pills. What are the side effects of stopping birth control? If you decide to stop using hormonal birth control, you may experience some disruptions to your cycle or other symptoms.

When is the best time to start birth control? If you are planning to start on hormonal contraceptives it is best to start them at least 1 month prior to having sex. If you take the pill less than 24 hours after you were supposed to and it’s not the first week of a new pack, you don’t need a back-up method just take the pill you missed and relax. If you miss any of the first 21 pills in your pack, you need to use a backup method of birth control (condoms) until you have taken seven consecutive days of pills. First, the short answer: If you miss a pill, you should take the pill you missed as soon as you can. What happens if you take your birth control late? Being even 12 hours late taking your birth control pill could increase your chances of getting pregnant. They must be taken once a day, but they don’t need to be taken at the same time every day. Yes, if you take your pill 2 hours late it’s still effective.
