QuestionQUESTION: Hi! I just recently forgot to take my pills and ended up getting my period. I waited until my period was over to start again but decided to take another week off because it made me feel a little nautious. I haven't taken it in two weeks and my husband and i just recently had unprotected sex. Now I know finding out or realizing your pregnant happens after a missed period. I am really concerned that i still could be pregnant. How long should i wait to take a home pregnancy test and was my body still in control by the past birth control? I have read in certain articles that you woud have to wait a while to be able to concieve once off of birth control. I have been really nautious with an occasional fever. I do however have a head cold. I am just worried.
ANSWER: Dear Christine,
Some women have to go through a few normal menstrual cycles before being able to conceive, however there are other women who conceive immediately after discontinuing BCP use. In fact, some have gotten pregnant by only missing a few days' worth of pills in a cycle. The rule of thumb is that if you miss more than two days and have not made those two days up AND have not used a back-up method of birth control for at least one week after the missed pills, you are susceptible to pregnancy. You need to take each days pill at approximately the same time of day (reasonably) on a consistent basis to be fully protected from pregnancy.
The problem is this - by waiting that extra week, you messed with your hormones a bit. You would probably have been better off to simply take that whole month off and use another form of birth control until you felt better. It really is important to stay on schedule in order to keep your cycles/hormones regulated.
I usually recommend that women wait until the week after a missed or spotty period before testing for pregnancy. This is typically about 3 weeks after conception has taken place. Therefore, I would suggest that you wait until at least 3 weeks after the unprotected sexual encounter before testing to make sure you get an accurate reading. Also - make sure you use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results.
I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.
Brenda
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: would you suggest that i stop taking the birth control and use other forms of protection just in case i could be pregnant?
AnswerDear Christine,
At this point, you have not missed a period. If you had actually missed a period, I would be more inclined to lean that way, but you haven't missed a period and you had one single unprotected encounter (if I understand you correctly). In addition, many women have taken the BCP very early on during a pregnancy when they were not aware of having gotten pregnant and have delivered healthy babies.
So, at this point, since the on-again-off-again BCP taking may alter your cycles already, I'd suggest just remaining on them for the remainder of the cycle to minimize any further risk of large hormone fluctuations. If you do not get a period of normal volume and duration during the off week of pills, test for pregnancy before re-starting another pack.
Hope that helps. Be well!
Brenda
