Forgetting Mercilon

The worst way to increase your risk of pregnancy is if you forget to take a pill. If you disrupt the flow of hormones into your bloodstream, they will not be able to control your menstrual cycle and stop an egg from being released. The risk of pregnancy increases with the amount of time it has been since you were supposed to take the pill and the number of contraceptive pills missed.

If you forget one pill and it is less than 12 hours since you were supposed to take it, take the pill immediately. If you are under 12 hours in taking the contraceptive pill, you should still be protected from pregnancy so carry on taking the pill as normal. However, if the time has run over 12 hours since the correct time to take the pill or you have missed more than one pill, you may not be protected from pregnancy. You should take the last missed pill immediately and disregard any previous pills. This may mean that you are taking more than one pill in a day but this should not have any adverse effects. You should continue your pack as normal but you should use an extra method of contraception for the next seven days.

It also matters where in the pack you have missed the pills. If you have missed the pills and there is more than seven pills left in the strip then you should follow the instructions above. However, if there are less than seven days left, there is an additional step that you will need to do to ensure protection. Continue your pack as normal, using extra protection but when you come to the end of the strip, start your new pack immediately. You will not have a withdrawal bleed week but miss it out altogether and start a new cycle. You should have a withdrawal bleed when you end the next strip.

If you have had unprotected sex during the time in which you miss the pills, you may be pregnant so if you do not have a withdrawal bleed when you are supposed to, contact your doctor.

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