Great for being proactive with your birth control!
Here are some answers to your questions:
1. The pill does not offer immediate protection. You will need to use a back-up method of birth control for at least 7 days until it is at its full effectiveness; 14 days is even better to use back-up protection. If you plan on taking your pill in the mornings, the morning after your period begins is great.
2. The birth control pill is 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. The implant is also 99% effective, as well as the Nuva Ring, Depo Provera shot, etc. The implant has less "user error", and is the reason there are not as many "horror stories" (it is also not as highly used as the pill). The pill is only effective when used correctly and consistently every time. The "horror stories" you have read are primarily from women who have not taken their pill consistently and correctly each and every time. Of course, there is 1% of women who can become pregnant while taking the pill, as the only 100% effective method to prevent pregnancy is not having sex at all.
3. Using hormonal contraception, plus a condom (barrier contraception), plus the withdrawal method provides the best protection when used in combination. The pill is still best (at 99% effectiveness), where the condom has much more "user error potential", and can be anywhere from 80-98% effective when used alone. The withdrawal method is about 75% effective when used alone. Most likely, you will begin to trust in your pill's effectiveness the more you use it, and will probably use condoms less.
What you can do: use condoms and/or withdrawal method during the middle of your cycle to offer you peace of mind. The pill works by preventing ovulation, so you don't really have a "most fertile" time, but you are least likely to become pregnant during your least fertile times, and that is typically right before your period. Does that make sense? I can explain better if you would like.
4. As long as you take the pill within an hour or two at the same time every day (morning or evening), this is considered as taking it at the same time. For instance: if you take it at 9am every morning when you brush your teeth, you can take it anywhere between 7am-11am, and it would still be effective. It is important to try to keep it at 9am, or within an hour of that time, every morning. (You would not want to get in the habit of taking it at 7am some mornings, then 11am other mornings...that would be a 4-hour time span. A few hours here-and-there is fine).
I feel as though I rambled, too, in my response...not very articulate! :) Let me know if you have any additional questions!
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Great for being proactive with your birth control!
Here are some answers to your questions:
1. The pill does not offer immediate protection. You will need to use a back-up method of birth control for at least 7 days until it is at its full effectiveness; 14 days is even better to use back-up protection. If you plan on taking your pill in the mornings, the morning after your period begins is great.
2. The birth control pill is 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. The implant is also 99% effective, as well as the Nuva Ring, Depo Provera shot, etc. The implant has less "user error", and is the reason there are not as many "horror stories" (it is also not as highly used as the pill). The pill is only effective when used correctly and consistently every time. The "horror stories" you have read are primarily from women who have not taken their pill consistently and correctly each and every time. Of course, there is 1% of women who can become pregnant while taking the pill, as the only 100% effective method to prevent pregnancy is not having sex at all.
3. Using hormonal contraception, plus a condom (barrier contraception), plus the withdrawal method provides the best protection when used in combination. The pill is still best (at 99% effectiveness), where the condom has much more "user error potential", and can be anywhere from 80-98% effective when used alone. The withdrawal method is about 75% effective when used alone. Most likely, you will begin to trust in your pill's effectiveness the more you use it, and will probably use condoms less.
What you can do: use condoms and/or withdrawal method during the middle of your cycle to offer you peace of mind. The pill works by preventing ovulation, so you don't really have a "most fertile" time, but you are least likely to become pregnant during your least fertile times, and that is typically right before your period. Does that make sense? I can explain better if you would like.
4. As long as you take the pill within an hour or two at the same time every day (morning or evening), this is considered as taking it at the same time. For instance: if you take it at 9am every morning when you brush your teeth, you can take it anywhere between 7am-11am, and it would still be effective. It is important to try to keep it at 9am, or within an hour of that time, every morning. (You would not want to get in the habit of taking it at 7am some mornings, then 11am other mornings...that would be a 4-hour time span. A few hours here-and-there is fine).
I feel as though I rambled, too, in my response...not very articulate! :) Let me know if you have any additional questions!
July 1, 2010 - 2:15pmThis Comment
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