I am not sure I can explain it any better in general terms, but I'll give it a try! You said you know that ovulation is different in these circumstances for women:
a) when a woman is taking bcp (ovulation is prevented)
b) when she is taking bcp and abruptly stops them (the process of hormones being released, leading to ovulation, is begun)
c) when a woman is not taking any bcp (ovulation occurs around the middle of her cycle, on average...can occur much earlier or later for some women)
The worst week to miss bcp is said to be the 1st week, because the prior week (week 4) was the week that did not contain any hormones in your pills (assuming you are taking 28-day cycle pills). Does that make sense?
Week 1: pills contain hormones
Week 2: pills contain hormones
Week 3: pills contain hormones
Week 4: pills contain NO hormones and you experience bleeding
Week 1 (of new pack): if you miss this entire week, you have been "hormone-free" from pills for 14 days.
Your confusion may be that you assume you can only ovulate during/near "day 14" of your cycle (which would be "Week 2"), and you assume this would be the worst time to miss a pill? If that's were the confusion is, it makes sense. But remember, your body does not have a "day 14" similar to women who are not using bcp. "Day 14" is only for women who are not taking hormonal contraception....they are ovulating, among other things. Your body only responds to the hormonal contraception you are taking to tell it to not mature an egg; not to release an egg, etc. When the hormones from your bcp abruptly stop, then your body kicks in and you begin this process. Your body has technically had 14 days to mature an egg and release an egg (ovulate), which is were the "chance of pregnancy" comes in with unprotected sex.
I can see from your perspective that the timing may not make sense, but please know that women's bodies are not like clockwork, and we can not 100% depend on any specific timing to dictate what our bodies are doing. Some women ovulate early in their cycles; others late in their cycles for no reason. This can be the same with you: you may ovulate "earlier" when you abruptly stop using bcp...it can not be predicted without testing hormone levels, etc.
Comment Reply
I am not sure I can explain it any better in general terms, but I'll give it a try! You said you know that ovulation is different in these circumstances for women:
a) when a woman is taking bcp (ovulation is prevented)
b) when she is taking bcp and abruptly stops them (the process of hormones being released, leading to ovulation, is begun)
c) when a woman is not taking any bcp (ovulation occurs around the middle of her cycle, on average...can occur much earlier or later for some women)
The worst week to miss bcp is said to be the 1st week, because the prior week (week 4) was the week that did not contain any hormones in your pills (assuming you are taking 28-day cycle pills). Does that make sense?
Week 1: pills contain hormones
Week 2: pills contain hormones
Week 3: pills contain hormones
Week 4: pills contain NO hormones and you experience bleeding
Week 1 (of new pack): if you miss this entire week, you have been "hormone-free" from pills for 14 days.
Your confusion may be that you assume you can only ovulate during/near "day 14" of your cycle (which would be "Week 2"), and you assume this would be the worst time to miss a pill? If that's were the confusion is, it makes sense. But remember, your body does not have a "day 14" similar to women who are not using bcp. "Day 14" is only for women who are not taking hormonal contraception....they are ovulating, among other things. Your body only responds to the hormonal contraception you are taking to tell it to not mature an egg; not to release an egg, etc. When the hormones from your bcp abruptly stop, then your body kicks in and you begin this process. Your body has technically had 14 days to mature an egg and release an egg (ovulate), which is were the "chance of pregnancy" comes in with unprotected sex.
I can see from your perspective that the timing may not make sense, but please know that women's bodies are not like clockwork, and we can not 100% depend on any specific timing to dictate what our bodies are doing. Some women ovulate early in their cycles; others late in their cycles for no reason. This can be the same with you: you may ovulate "earlier" when you abruptly stop using bcp...it can not be predicted without testing hormone levels, etc.
August 2, 2009 - 2:52pmThis Comment
Reply