Expert: Norman Solberg - 3/4/2009

Question
I know that the pill is not 100 percent effective and so does my boyfriend, but we still have unprotected sex anyway because we figure that it is effective enough and it is a slim chance for me to get pregnant.. but I'm just wondering if I were to get pregnant is there a way for the doctor to tell if I was taking my pills or not just by checking me out. Because I am afraid my boyfriend might try to accuse me of not taking them, there are times that I miss a pill here and there but I take it as soon as I can. But I just want to know if there is a way of knowing if I took my pills or not if I were to get pregnant.. And if the pills would hurt the baby if I didn't know I was pregnant and kept taking them.

Answer
There is no way I am aware of that a doctor could know if you took your pills or not.  As far as we know, the pills wouldn't hurt your baby if you took them not knowing you were pregnant, but we recommend that you stop the pill as soon as you find out.  The pill is highly effective, but becomes less effective the more pills are missed or taken late.