#Taking birth control 2 hours late full#

Take your next pill at your normal time.Take your late pill as soon as you remember.Here’s what you should do if your pill is late but not yet missed: If you’re taking a mini pill that uses desogestrel as its active ingredient, you’ve got 12 hours before your pill is considered missed, as opposed to 3. If you look at your pack, it’ll list one main ingredient. The rules for late or missed mini pills depend on the type of progestin that’s in the medication. Many women prefer mini pills because they get side effects when they take estrogen for some women, like those over 35, progestogen-only contraception is usually recommended.īecause mini pills only have one hormone and often contain lower doses compared to combined pills, your window for taking the pill is smaller - sometimes only 3 hours. Despite the name, it’s not actually any smaller than a combined birth control pill.

#Taking birth control 2 hours late full#

Many types of birth control include a few days or a full week of “spacer” pills which don’t contain any hormones but are meant to be taken to keep you in your daily habit.Ī mini pill is a birth control pill that only contains the hormone progestin. A progesterone-only mini pill, however, is considered missed if it’s more than 12 hours late (but for older pills like Norgeston or Noriday it’s only 3 hours).Īre there ever times when you’ve missed one birth control pill and don’t need to do anything? Yes, if the pill you missed was one of the placebo pills in your pack. It’s considered missed after more than 24 hours. But with other medication, being just 12 hours late in taking your birth control pill can mean a drop in your protection against pregnancy.Īccording to the NHS, a combined pill is considered late if fewer than 24 hours have passed since the time you normally take your pill. Depending on the brand, if you took your birth control 4 hours late, you might just need to take it once you’ve remembered - no harm. Many types of birth control distinguish between a “late” and “missed” pill in terms of what you should do to get back on track. If you’ve tried all the tips like setting an alarm on your phone (we’ve got a tip list further down the page), consider switching to a less high-maintenance contraceptive like the weekly patch, monthly ring or even a long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) like the injection or IUD. Missing one or two pills every now and then is no big deal, but if you find yourself missing pills regularly, a daily birth control pill might just not be your thing.

Below, we’ll go over some basic guidelines for what to do if you’ve missed a pill and address the rules for some of the most popular contraception brands.

Most specifically, they depend on whether you’re using combined pills or a progesterone-only mini pill - but some individual brands have their own rules as well. The rules on what to do if you’ve missed a pill (or taken it late) depend on which type of birth control you’re taking. It happens to everyone, and it’s simple to get back on track. Missed, forgotten or late pills: a guide on what to doįirst, don’t worry.