I forgot to take my pill - what now?

Here are the steps to take next depending on which pill you take:

Forgetting the combined pill

Ideally, you should take the combined pill at the same time each day. A pill isn’t “missed” until it’s been 24 hours since you last took one.If you’ve missed one combined pill…

1. Take the last pill you missed as soon as possible, even if this means taking two in one day. Doing so will not cause any harm or adverse effects.
2. Continue taking the pills at the same time each day and carry on as usual.
3. Once you finish your pill pack, take a seven day break from taking the pills and then start a new pack.

You will still have protection against pregnancy even if you miss one pill, and you don’t need to use any extra or emergency contraception.

If you’ve missed multiple (two or more) combined pills…

Unfortunately, your protection from pregnancy may be affected. This also applies if you have started a new pack of contraception two or more days late. Here’s what to do if any of these two mistakes happen:

1. Only take the last pill you missed – ie only take Wednesday’s pill, even if you’ve missed Monday’s and Tuesday’s pills too.
2. After taking the missed pill, carry on with the rest of the pack as normal.
3. If you’ve missed two or more pills, you may not be protected against pregnancy.
4. Consider emergency contraception if you’ve had sex and use an extra method of contraception, such as condoms, for the next seven days.

Starting a new pack after missing two or more pills

1. If there are seven or more pills remaining in the pack, you should finish the pack, have your seven day pill-free break, and then begin a new pack
2. If there are less than seven pills remaining in the pack, finish the pack, skip the week-long break from pills, and start a new pack immediately after finishing the old pack.

Forgetting the progestogen-only pill

Progestogen-only pills (POPs) need to be taken at roughly the same time each day. However, there is an ideal window of time when you should take POPs– 3 hours within the time you usually take the pill.

POPs containing desogestrel, like Cerelle and Cerazette, need to be taken within a 12-hour window each day. POPs without desogestrel need to be taken within a three hour window each day.

If you’ve missed your pill within the time window…

Take the pill you missed as soon as you can, and carry on with the pack as normal.

You’re still protected against pregnancy – so you don’t need extra or emergency contraception.

If you’ve missed your pill outside the time window…

Take your pill as soon as soon as possible, even if it means taking two pills in one day. This isn’t harmful and won’t cause any adverse effects. Then carry on with the pack as normal, taking your pill at your usual time.

Missing your pill outside the time window means you may not be protected against pregnancy.

Consider emergency contraception if you’ve had sex, and use extra contraception, like condoms for the next 48 hours.

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