Birth Control & Fertility: Understanding Risks & Effectiveness

Question
I have been on birth control for three months now, and have had no problems. Last month i took my "sugar pills" a week early and then took the last row of active pills in that pack and then started a new pack. Could this cause problems in how the pills are working? Do you have fertile days while on birth control and if so when are they? And one last question, my boyfriend and I were fooling around but he did not enter me, but i am afriad some of the pre-cum may have came out, what are the chances of getting pregnant from this while on birth control? Thanks in advance!


Answer
Birth control pills work by preventing ovulation from occurring. HOwever, you have to take all the active pills. There is no reason to take the placebos (sugar pills) until you have finished all the active pills (cycle day #1-21). The pills do not only work at your fertile time of the month. They must be taken each day to prevent ovulation. HOwever, if you take all the pills, you will not become pregnant even if you fool around.  If you were not protected by the pills, or if you ovulated due to the fact that you did not take all the active pills, you can become pregnant if any of the pre-ejaculatory semen gets on your skin in your vagina or around your vagina. This can occur if the area is moist.  Remember, there are around 300,000 sperm at the tip of the penis prior to ejaculation and these sperm can swim into the vagina or can be "milked" into the vagina if he tries to withdraw prior to ejaculation.