Clo asked
I miss the first week of my birth control pills, when I got my pills I started taking them like I normally would. I haven’t started my period yet and I should have. Is that normal?
Answer
If you accidentally miss your first week of birth control pills, you should start a new pack. Do not simply start on the 'second week' row of your pills when you remember. You need to start a new pack from scratch. When starting one week late, there are two important things to know:
- You will not be protected from pregnancy when you start your new pack. You could become pregnant if you have unprotected sex in the 7 days after you restart your pills. Therefore, you must use a back-up method of birth control, such as condoms, until you have taken 7 consecutive days of birth control pills.
- You may not have your period this month, or it may come later than usual. However, this is to be expected and is considered normal as your body hasn't had time to adjust to the change in your birth control pill administration schedule. You should get your period as you normally would the next month. If you do not, it is important to call your doctor or take a pregnancy test.
In your case, having missed the first week of pills and then starting a new pack like you normally would, you did the correct thing. It is actually pretty common that you don't get your period that first month as you are essentially continuing to take active pills during the time you normally would have gotten your period (since you started a week late). You should get your period however next month when you finish with your active pills.
You should not experience any additional side effects and there is no harm done by accidentally starting one week late. Just remember to use back-up birth control if you are sexually active until you have taken 7 consecutive days of active pills to protect against pregnancy.
