Question about birth control

Ladies, that is so far from what she was asking, it’s frankly astounding.

She was not asking “How can I not get pregnant?” She was asking “Will the protection offered by my pills decrease during the week in which I am not taking hormones?” And the answer is yes, you are just as protected during that week as you are any other week.

Most birth control pills work by masking the chemical signals the body needs in order to produce an egg. Since ovulation typically takes place around the middle of a woman’s cycle, the hormone levels have plenty of time to build back up again following the week of sugar pills.

While it’s true that the Pill is never 100% effective – current pregnancy rates on the Pill range from 2% to 8% – your protection level will not drop if you take the hormone pills regularly.

If you’re still concerned about this, however, or it 8% seems a little high, there are plenty of other options to try, like Depo Provera, whose failure rate is around .3% to 1%. Or, as dawnathan suggested, you could try abstinence and have no fun at all.

Good one MoonStar, thanks. Personally, I’m new to this site and I don’t know anyone, none of the “posters” here have any real affect on my personal life, so no one “gets” to me either! Now then for ol’ Mike - not only did you not understand what she was asking, you screwed it up in your own reply. You state:

She was asking ‘Will the protection offered by my pills decrease during the week in which I am not taking hormones?’ And the answer is yes, you are just as protected during that week as you are any other week.

You are saying that she asked if the protection DECREASES during that week and you state YES. Well, you are WRONG. The protection does NOT decrease during the week of sugar pills; you are still protected and should be on your period that week! Basically the reason you have that week of sugar pills is so that a girl can take a pill EVERY SINGLE DAY. That way you don’t stop taking your regular pills for a week and then FORGET to start them up again. If you take one every day, always, then you won’t forget to start again. Very simple really…

hmmm, I’ve been a woman for 47 years and know my body pretty well. How long have you been a woman Mike? LOL!!

Yes, you are protected against pregnancy once you begin using the pill. It’s effectiveness is something like 98.9 % or 99%, but there is always that little chance you could get pregnant. My neice got pregnant while on the pill. I was on the pill for years and it worked great, I did not get pregnant until I went off the pill. So it’s different for everyone. I believe your doctor should have told you that you were not protected against pregnancy for the first month you are on the pill, just so it can build up in your body. After that you are protected against pregnancy, but nothing else. Thus, the advice to also use a condom. Don’t worry about that one week of non-hormonal pills, that’s when you will be on your period anyway. Just make sure to NEVER NEVER miss a pill. Not even one day! I missed 3 days and got pregnant with my third child just that quick! Good luck!

As long as you take you 21 days of active pills correctly (on time with no vomiting or diarriah within 2 hours of taking them) You are protected for the 7 days of sugar pills.

The only reason why there are sugar pills is to make you body mimick a period to make the pill more psychologically acceptable for women. You can skip the placebo week and use a method called continuous use, where you take only the active pills with no breaks. (try lybrel) Most women of course to experience spotting (which is a downfall) Some women prefer the placebo week as re-assurance that they are not pregnant. If you don’t plan on getting pregnant anytime soon, this is a very safe method. Consult your doctor first incase you have risk factors (smoking, over 35 years old etc.)

xox Sika

I do believe you are protected all the time while on the pill. But You can’t prevent pregnancy unless you are abstinent. No sex is the ONLY prevention. All others help quite a bit but no sex is the way to go if you don’t want a baby. I got pregnant twice on that birth control shot, depo provera. Thats shot was supposed to be pretty darn good. Not for me! My two oldest sons are products of trying to protect myself. Don’t get me wrong, I wpuldn’t give them up for NOTHING. I love them. But sh*t happens.

^ I agree with her. Great advice dawnathen ! Birth control pills to me are not a good way of protecting yourself. Thats why Stupid me went and got an IUD. Worst mistake of my life. I have never had so much pain in my life in my pelvic area. What I am saying is ^Dawnnethen is not the only person I have heard getting pregnant on the pill. You should be using condoms anyways for extra protection not only for pregnancy but for your self. Good Luck