Can You Get Pregnant While On The Pill

You Experienced A Gastrointestinal Episode

Going through vomiting or diarrhea can be incredibly distressing. You feel weak and uncomfortable, and you’re often experiencing pain in your stomach.

But for women taking birth-control pills, such gastrointestinal issues can also cause their pills to be less effective, primarily because the pill’s absorption in the body can be interrupted, Pal said.

Planned Parenthood recommends that pill-taking women who are going through stomach issues ask their doctors for advice, and use backup birth control until they are told that they don’t need to do so anymore.

Such backup methods could include condoms, emergency contraception, female condoms, and more.

What Do I Do With My Iud If I Get Pregnant

If you are pregnant with an IUD, its vital to go to your doctor immediately. Like with the implant, there is an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, which can permanently damage your reproductive system or even kill you.

And if you want to keep the baby, bear in mind you are 50 percent more likely to have a miscarriage if the implant is not removed, and 25 percent more likely even if it is. It can also lead to a higher chance of infection and premature delivery. You will probably need to watch your pregnancy very closely to make sure it progresses normally .

Do Contraceptive Pills Affect Pregnancy Tests

You might be thinking, Oh my God, it says Im pregnant, but wait, doesnt the pill have hormones in it that could affect test results?

Were afraid that the short answer is: no, the pill doesnt impact the results of pregnancy tests.

The pill contains the hormone oestrogen and progesterone, but the pregnancy test is only looking to detect the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotrophin .

When to take your pregnancy test to get the right result is a whole other topic which you can read about here.

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The Basics: What Happens To Your Body On The Pill

• Ovulation is halted .
• Your period is not a “real” period, but rather withdrawal bleeding. It’s an artificial period which is why it tends to be much lighter than a regular period.
• Estrogen and progesterone levels are stabilized. Off the pill, these fluctuate.*

* Here we’re talking about the combined pill, and this information may differ for some mini pills and IUDs.

Seven Ways You Could Get Pregnant While On The Pill

The Pill use artificial versions of the female sex hormones to prevent the ovaries from releasing an egg each month

• Andrea Downey

• 12:22, 16 Oct 2017

IT’S one of the most common forms of contraception and is up to 99 per cent effective. But even the Pill isn’t infallible.

In fact, there are still ways you can still get pregnant when you are taking it.

The Pill has has been available to women in the UK since 1961 and by 2000 it was estimated some four million women across the country were using it.

Most birth control pills are a form of the combined pill, which uses synthetic versions of the female sex hormones progesterone and oestrogen.

The combined pill works by preventing the ovaries from releasing an egg each month – the process called ovulation, that’s vital when it comes to baby making.

It also thickens the mucus at the neck of the womb to make it harder for sperm to get through and thins lining of the womb so there is less chance of a fertilised egg implanting.

It is one of the most effective forms of contraception available and can be used to treat a range of different conditions from endometriosis to acne.

But if you don’t take it correctly you could end up with an unexpected pregnancy on your hands. Here’s seven ways you can still get pregnant while taking the Pill…

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How Soon Do You Ovulate After Missing A Pill

For most women, ovulation will start within weeks, though it can take one to three months. Think about itthe pill works by stopping ovulation if you miss a couple of pills, you could become pregnant because your body will ovulate. Some doctors even say that you are most fertile right when you stop taking the pill.

Pills Were Incorrectly Packaged

Some aspects of how well your birth control works are frustratingly out of your control, such as how it was packaged and whether those in charge of packaging did it right. Yes, really: whether or not your birth control works can come down to a detail as arbitrary as that. You may not even realize that the reason was so simple and uncontrollable as that until it’s too late.

In 2015, over 100 women across 28 different states sued a pharmaceutical company that produced eight different birth control brands. Thanks to a packaging error, the pills were marked so that women took the placebo pills in the beginning of the month instead of the end. These 100 women had gotten pregnant even though they thought their birth control had them covered, which it should have been except for the erroneous packaging.

While the pharmaceutical company has since paid the damages, there’s no telling whether such a mistake could happen in the future. Supplementing your birth control with condom usage or opting for other contraception options could keep you covered in the case of a packaging mistake.

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We Don’t Know Whether Most Antibiotics Make Birth Control Less Effective

There are two antibiotics that researchers have found make birth control pills less effective: griseofulvin, an antifungal used to treat athlete’s foot and ringworm, and rifampicin, which is typically used to treat tuberculosis.

The reason that happens is that these drugs speed up the liver’s metabolism, which makes the liver metabolize the hormones in the birth control faster. As a result, hormones leave the blood stream faster and are unable to adequately affect the ovaries to prevent ovulation or the cervix to prevent thickening of the cervical mucus.

Lots of antibiotics, not just the two listed above, come with warnings that they’ll make birth control ineffective and suggest using a backup method of contraception. While a backup method is never a bad idea, there’s actually sparse evidence that these other drugs make birth control less effective. “Uncertainty persists with respect to the other broad-spectrum antibiotics,” researchers in the journal Contraceptionwrote in a review article about interactions between birth control and antibiotics. They argue that in light of that uncertainty, it is completely appropriate for women to use a backup method but not to ditch their antibiotics out of concern over interactions.

You Wont Get Pregnant If You Use The Pill Right Wrong

I used the pill for a decade before I began having children in my early 30s. It seemed like a foolproof method of birth control.

After having two children fairly close together, I felt that my family was complete. So imagine my surprise when I turned up pregnant in the spring of 2011 while on the pill.

After some panicked Googling, I thought I had found the culprit: A few weeks earlier, Id come down with strep, and the family doctor had prescribed an antibiotic. I had taken the antibiotic with no thought whatsoever about birth control.

Aha! That explained it, I thought. And the doctor later confirmed my suspicion: The antibiotic, she said, might have lowered the efficacy of the pill. A week later, I had a miscarriage.

We changed insurance plans, and soon I found a highly recommended OB/GYN and asked about getting an intrauterine device. Based on some factors related to the ultrasound the OB required before ordering an IUD, she talked me out of it. Furthermore, an IUD would have cost me about $600, even with our excellent insurance plan.

Figuring that my previous unplanned pregnancy was just a fluke, I went back on the same pill. It cost me only $5 per month, I was a reliable pill taker, and switching to a different form of birth control seemed like a hassle. A few months later, I discovered I was pregnant again.

My third child is now 9 months old. I wouldnt change anything and cant imagine my life or our family without her.

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Detox Teas And Laxatives

You may think detox teas and laxatives don’t belong in the same category here, but they both have the same effect on the Pill.

Detox teas are thought to flush the body of toxins – in slightly more crude words, they make you poo more.

As do laxatives, which are used to treat constipation.

As discussed above, diarrhoea or going to the toilet frequently, can stop the Pill from being effective.

Last year a number of women reported getting pregnant while using the popular high street brand Bootea detox tea.

The tea can have a laxative effect, which can affect the Pills effectiveness.

“Anything that stops the Pill reaching the small intestine before it is absorbed , or that moves it through the intestine too quickly will lower protection,” says Dr Caroline Cooper, associate specialist in sexual and reproductive health at Cambridges iCaSH clinic.

“Leave at least 12 hours between taking your Pill and using any kind of detox/laxative product.”

Missing A Pill Or Not Taking It At The Same Time Each Day

If you donât take it at the same time, or miss a pill, this can cause a decrease in the hormones in your body. This means that you can get pregnant while on the pill.

You do have a bit of wiggle room though – if youâre on the combined pill, a pill is not considered missed until it is more than 24 hours late, or 48 hours from when you took the last one. If you miss a pill, take it as soon as possible even if that means you have to take two in the same day. If you missed two or more in a pack, take the last one you missed as soon as possible and then continue on with the pack as usual. Use condoms for 7 days as backup protection.

If youâre on the mini pill, you only have a 3 hour window to take your missed pill. If itâs been longer than that, still take the missed pill as soon as you can, but make sure you use backup contraception for at least 3 days.

Recommended Reading: Can You Get Pregnant 8 Days After Your Period

Birth Control And Miscarriage Myths

Some people believe that if they continue to take the birth control pill while pregnant, they may have a miscarriage. This is not true, and there has never been any evidence to suggest that.

The hormones in the pill work by thickening to the cervical mucus to prevent sperm from entering the uterus, stopping ovulation, and preventing the thickening of the uterine lining to support implantation. None of these things contributes to either a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Another myth is that using emergency contraception while you are pregnant may cause the spontaneous termination of your pregnancy. This is again not true. These pills really have no effect once a fertilized egg has implanted.

There are specific medications that can end a pregnancy if desired. However, these are not considered birth control but a form of medical abortion. Known as Mifeprex or RU-486, the abortion pill has been FDA-approved in the United States since 2000.

Can I Get Pregnant While On The Pill

In a nutshell: yes, you can get pregnant while youre on the pill.

A standard birth control pill is effective about 99.5% of the time if it is used 100% correctly.

Essentially, that means that even if you take it on time every day and follow the instructions to the letter, you still have a 0.5% chance of getting pregnant.

If youre less diligent in following the instructions, the pill becomes less effective. Studies vary, but weve seen some show a user failure rate of over 5%.

That translates to 5% of women becoming pregnant while on the pill.

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You Can’t Remember If You Took It

Imperfect use, or not taking your birth control when and how your’re supposed to, is the number one reason it fails, according to Planned Parenthood. You don’t have to take it with scientific precision, but you do need to take it around the same time every day, especially if you’re taking progestin-only pills, or you could become pregnant. When in doubt, Planned Parenthood recommends using condoms for seven days after a missed pill, just in case.

Use Multiple Methods Of Contraception

A barrier method, like a condom or diaphragm, can be used alongside the pill as another line of defense. Condoms are also the best way to lower your risk of contracting STIs.

If youre in a monogamous relationship and trust your partner, you can also rely on the withdrawal method but dont use this as your only birth control. According to the CDC, its only 78 percent effective on its own.

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Not Taking The Pill Daily

In addition to not taking your pill at the same time every day, skipping a day entirely can have horrendous consequences if you rely on birth control alone to prevent pregnancy. Health concerns have caused the level of estrogen in birth control pills to decrease over the decades. Modern pills are now considered “low-dose” pills. While they are just as effective as older, higher-dose pills, they only work well if they are taken every day within the same time window.

Skipping a day means that the amount in your bloodstream is not enough to prevent pregnancy efficiently. It’s more important than it used to be that women take the pill every day and that, if they skip a day, they rely on other means of contraception for at least two to four days afterwards. It may seem a little anal retentive, but being safe is better than being sorry.

Chances Of Getting Pregnant While On Birth Control

Implant: Of the people with uteri that use the implant, 5/10,000 usually get pregnant giving you only a 0.05% chance of getting pregnant if you choose this method.

Hormonal IUD: On the IUD with hormone, 2/1000 women usually get pregnant. That means you have a 0.2% change of getting pregnant using this method.

Copper IUD: On the copper IUD , 8/1000 women usually get pregnant which means women using this method have a 0.8% of getting pregnant.

Birth control shot: Of the women that use the birth control shot, 6/100 get pregnant. If your means of contraception is a birth control shot, you have a 6% of getting pregnant.

Birth control ring: How effective is NuvaRing? On the birth control ring, 9/100 women usually get pregnant.

Birth control patch: Using the birth control patch, 9/100 women usually get pregnant . This method has the same effectiveness as the birth control ring.

Combined birth control pill: On the birth control pill, 9/100 women usually get pregnant .

Progestin-only birth control pill : When using Progestin Only Pills , 9/100, or 9%, of women usually get pregnant.

Condoms for birth control: Using condoms, 18/100 women usually get pregnant. This method of contraception is the only way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. To prevent STIs, condoms should be used in combination with another method, like the birth control patch.

Spermicide: With spermicide alone about 28/100, or 28%, of women will get pregnant.

*when used as directed. The math changes otherwise.

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How To Take Birth Control Pills

You should take one birth control pill daily at the same time each day. The first time you start your pills, you can begin in one of three ways:

• Take the first pill on the first day of your period and use no backup pregnancy prevention.
• Take the first pill on any day that youd like and use backup pregnancy protection for at least seven days.
• Take the first pill on the first Sunday after your period and use backup pregnancy prevention for at least seven days.

Missed Pills: How To Handle It

Directions on what to do if you miss a pill can vary between different brands of birth control pills. It is always best to review the specific instructions in your Patient Information Handout and speak to your health care provider about your individual case.

Important Note: If you take Natazia and you have missed pills, follow the patient instructions for missed pills found in the Natazia package insert or contact your healthcare provider.

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Early Signs Of Pregnancy

If a person is concerned about contraceptive failure and the possibility of being pregnant, they should speak to their doctor. However, there are also some early signs that can indicate pregnancy:

• Bloating. While bloating is often a symptom of premenstrual syndrome, it can sometimes also be a sign of early pregnancy.
• Breast tenderness. Raised levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone can cause breast tenderness early in pregnancy. Some women may also experience symptoms, such as tingling, heaviness, or feelings of breast fullness.
• Light spotting. A small amount of bleeding or spotting can occur when an egg attaches to the uterine lining. If spotting occurs outside of an expected menstrual cycle, it may be an early symptom of pregnancy.
• Unexplained fatigue. Hormonal changes that occur in the body during pregnancy can make a person feel tired, even during the early stages.
• Urinating more often. Hormonal changes can increase a womans need to urinate during early pregnancy.

Anyone who thinks they could be pregnant may wish to take an at-home pregnancy test. These tests have become more sensitive to a persons hormone levels and better at detecting pregnancy in its earliest stages.

However, at-home pregnancy tests still may not reliable if an individual takes it too early or does not follow the instructions correctly. According to the United States