Expert: Norman Solberg - 3/18/2011

Question
Hi, I'm 20 female and I had a few questions about birth control pills and pregnancy...I'm currently on Ortho Cept and I take it every night at 9 pm. I've been taking it correctly, except for last night I forgot to take it. And I had sex last night at around midnight or later I don't really remember. We did not use a condom. So my questions are: 1.) What are the chances I could become pregnant? 2.) I am a very forgetful person so I'm wondering how high the chances are of getting pregnant if I miss 2 or 3 pills in a row? I am in the third week of pills in the pack by the way. 3.) When can I test to find out if I am pregnant, how many days after the sexual act? 4.) Most people say wait for the day you're supposed to get your period or something to take a pregnancy test, but I'm in my last week of active pills so if I had sex Thursday night, and my next period is supposed to come in like six days, are they talking about that period coming up in six days, or a period after that? Because wouldn't it be too early to test? I'm so confused please help me out if you can!

Answer
1. Since you're in your third week of the pill, you're unlikely to become pregnant from missing a pill.  The first week is the time when pregnancy is more likely, especially if you miss the first pill of a pack.
2. Pregnancy is highly unlikely for a woman who never misses a pill.  For every pill missed, pregnancy becomes a little more likely.  If you miss 2 or 3 pills in a row, it's advisable to use backup (condoms, etc.) for 7 days.
3. A pregnancy test will usually be positive 14 days after conception.  Since you're in the third week of the pills, you'll know by whether your period comes.  If your period comes when expected, that means that you're not pregnant (if you were pregnant, you wouldn't get a period).