Progestin only pills
Efficacy is rapidly lost if one pill is forgotten or taken > 3 hours late.
Recommend dual contraception for all scenarios for at least 7 days . LoEIII[20]
| Scenario | Action |
|---|---|
|
One pill forgotten or if pill taken > 3 hours late and unprotected sexual intercourse has not occurred in the past 5 days. |
Take pill as soon as remembered and continue taking one pill daily at the same hour. |
|
One pill forgotten or if taken > 3 hours late and unprotected sexual intercourse has occurred in the past 5 days. |
Give emergency contraception (see emergency contraception ). Take one pill the next day and continue taking one pill daily at the same hour. |
Combination of progestin and estrogen in each pill
Missing active pills and extending hormone free interval leads to decreased contraceptive efficacy. LoEIII [21] Recommend dual contraception for all scenarios for at least 7 days .
| Scenario | Action |
|---|---|
| One active pill forgotten. |
Take pill as soon as remembered and take next one at usual time. |
|
≥ Two pills forgotten during the first 7 active pills of the pack and sexual intercourse has occurred in the past 5 days. |
Give emergency contraception (see emergency contraception ) Restart active pills 12 hours later. |
|
≥ Two pills forgotten during the middle 7 active pills of the pack. |
Take the most recent missed pill immediately (discard the other missed pills). Continue taking remaining pills as usual. No emergency contraception required. |
|
≥ Two pills forgotten in the last 7 active pills of the pack and sexual intercourse has occurred in past 5 days. |
Continue active pills of current pack. Omit the inactive pills and immediately start the active pills of the next pack. |