Birth control: continue or stop? Posted: 02-20-07 03:33am
I'm currently on Ortho Tricyclen Lo, and
have just ended the second week of the
pill pack. However, during the 2nd week, I
have missed four pills in a row. I didn't
experience any type of withdrawal bleeding
like I normally do...like after the 3 days
of taking the inactive pills. Is this okay
to not have withdrawal bleeding since I
did have withdrawal bleeding after I
stopped my last pack? I also did miss one
or two pills in week one of this pack as
well. Should I be fine to continue the
pills or should I take a pregnancy test
due to the lack of withdrawal
bleeding?
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DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
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Birth Control Answer A2428 Posted: 03-15-07 03:36am
After a woman misses many active birth
control pills, hormonal contraception
alone is not adequate enough to prevent an
unwanted pregnancy. Therefore, you could
get pregnant. Nonetheless, it's not likely
that you become pregnant in the second
week of the cycle. This current lack of
vaginal bleeding is probably not due to
pregnancy but normal vaginal bleeding
usually doesn't occur, either, if your
stop taking birth control pills during the
second week of the menstrual cycle.
Vaginal bleeding can be provoked if you
stop taking your pills during the third
week of the cycle, however. You can
continue taking pills but you should use a
condom to prevent pregnancy. If you
don’t get your period when you finish
the pack you can take a pregnancy test.
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