Getting Pregnant on Birth Control Pills: Is There a Chance?

Can you get pregnant taking birth control pills? It would seem that it is a silly question, as all mass media and doctors claim that oral birth control pills are the most reliable protection against undesirable pregnancy. In practice, oral birth control pills can not give a 100% guarantee to protect you from conception. The pregnancy may occur while even the most advanced and perfect birth control pills.

Today the word “hormonal” still sounds frightening to some women. This attitude has formed due to the numerous side effects of the first-generation birth control pills. One of the most unappealing side effects was weight gaining, caused by the fluid delay in the body of a woman. The hair could appear on the face, on the nipple areola, and on the abdomen. However, the side effects of modern birth control pills are almost brought to naught. The only bothering question is the efficiency of the pills. So what may influence the efficiency of the birth control pill?

The Risks of Getting Pregnant While on Birth Control

The instructions to any oral birth control pills state the pills should be taken at the same time daily if the delay is more than 12 hours, the birth control effect is reduced, thus the possibility of getting pregnant taking birth control pills increases.

The other factor that may reduce the effect of the birth control is vomiting before the pill got digested – in less than 3 hours after taking the pill. In that case, it is recommended to take immediately one more pill as the first one was not digested completely. The same actions should be taken when you have had repeated diarrhea. By the way, women who have “weak” stomach and intestinal problems are recommended to use the vaginal ring or a special patch.

The reliability of pills can decrease because of their interaction with other medicines and even with some folk remedies. Among all medicines, antibiotics are the most frequent reason for failures. Tutsan is among the folk remedies that may reduce the efficiency of birth control. The influence of the latter on daily consumption may remain up to two more weeks after the last intake. Thus, the self-treatment may make the efficiency of birth control pills unstable. In case your doctor prescribes you treatment, don’t forget to mention your method of birth control, it is possible that during the treatment you have to use barrier or chemical contraception methods instead. You should always use the additional methods of birth control in any situation where there is a risk of a decrease in birth control method efficiency.

The efficiency may be insufficient in case of the wrong choice of oral birth control. For example, you take pills intended for breastfeeding women. Such birth control pills contain fewer hormones, so the chances of getting pregnant increase.

Efficacy may also reduce the irregular spotting and bleeding is regularly observed between the periods. In some women, a tolerance to the birth control method may occur. In that case, you should change the brand of the pills. You should also know, that the first 7-14 days of using his pills when the concentration of hormones that block the fertility has not reached the necessary level, are the risk period and the barrier methods of birth control should better be used in addition.

It is worth mentioning alcohol as the enemy of birth control. Keep in mind that alcohol makes your liver work more intensively: in the urgent mode the liver gets rid of toxic substances, and at the same time neutralizes the estrogen which is contained in birth control pills. Therefore, the consumption of large doses of alcohol may affect the activity of hormones, that are aimed to suppress an ovulation.

What to Do if Pregnancy Occurred

The pregnancy which has occurred during the intake of birth control pills is always surprised and a reason for concern. The woman is overwhelmed by lots of disturbing thoughts: how the taken medicine will affect the course of pregnancy and the development of future kids? Will the baby be born with physical defects or intellectual deviations? Is there a good chance to incubate a healthy fetus? Is abortion more reasonable in such a case?

Doctors hurry to calm.

“The pregnancy which occurred due to the insufficient protection of the oral birth control pills is not a reason to worry about the successful outcome, – Day Pikauskayte, the obstetrician, says. – The long-term statistics demonstrate that the number of defective children births in such cases is no more than average. Thousands of healthy kids are convincing confirmation of the research cases”. Thus, the fact concerning taking oral birth control pills should not affect your decision to keep or abort a pregnancy.

Gynecologists do not consider the intake of birth control pills as a contraindication in the case of pregnancy, the amount of hormones in such pills isn’t too high to harm the fetus or the mother. Pregnancy in such circumstances shall be considered and observed as completely normal. Of course, n case you decide to keep the baby, you should stop taking the birth control pills.

Using Birth Control Pills Rules

According to most experts, oral birth control pills are a convenient, safe, and rather a reliable way of protection if, of course, one follows the instructions. In order to minimize the chance of undesirable pregnancy while on birth control, be attentive and accurate and strictly follow the recommendations of the doctor.

The Basic Rules of Taking Oral Birth Control Pills

1. Don’t “prescribe” an oral birth control to yourself. Be sure to contact your obstetrician-gynecologist. Only the specialist can choose the right pill for you
2. You should take birth control pills for 21 days of each menstrual cycle. Then the seven-day break follows (the bleeding phase), similar to a menstrual cycle. As a rule, you should start taking pills on the first day of the menstrual cycle, i.e. the day when the bleeding starts
3. Do not forget to take your pills. Ideally, they should be taken at the same time of the day, it significantly increases their efficiency
4. In the first month of birth control pill application, it is necessary to use additional birth control methods
5. If there was vomiting or severe diarrhea within three hours after taking a pill, take one more pill as the first one was not properly digested
6. If you have started to take medicine which reduces the effect of oral birth control pills, you should use additional methods of birth control until the end of the cycle
7. If you are taking oral birth control pills, you should not abuse alcohol

The information above should help you to gain the 100% security while using the birth control pills, despite the manufacturers’ 99% stated. Take proper care of your health a good luck.