Missed a birth control pill?

What type of pill do you take?

Combination Pill

Progestin-only (Mini Pill)

How many pills did you miss?

One pill

Two pills

Three or more days of pills

Take the pill you most recently missed ASAP and continue taking the rest of your pills as normal.

Use back-up birth control until you have taken seven days of hormonal pills in a row. If you had unprotected sex in the last five days, consider using emergency contraception.

What to do if you've missed two pills:

Take the pill you missed ASAP, then take the rest of your pills as usual. You may need to take two pills in one day.

Back-up birth control usually isn't needed, unless you've already missed another pill in the same pack.

What to do if you've missed one pill:

If it's has been longer than 48 hours since you took a pill, you are no longer protected against pregnancy.

Consider emergency contraception if you’ve had unprotected sex in the last five days or if the pills were missed during the first week of the pack.

What to do if you've missed three or more days:

Take your pill ASAP, and continue taking your pills like normal.

Use back-up birth control until you have taken the pills consecutively for two days. Call your doctor or use emergency contraception if you’ve had unprotected sex in the last five days.