I woke up this morning forgetting to take my pill, and only realized it about four hours later and took it. This is the first week of this pack. I had vaginal sex with my boyfriend on Tuesday, and used condoms and had him pull out, and I’ve been using the pill almost perfectly for about a year now. Should I be concerned and take my emergency contraceptive, or do I not need to?
If you're taking a combination pill (which is the most common kind most of birth control pill), a pill isn't considered "late" until it's twelve hours after your regular pill-taking time, so four hours shouldn't impact its effectiveness at all and emergency contraception won't be necessary.
Correct, the four hour delay shouldn't effect how well the pill is working.
Too, it can help to remember that the pill prevents pregnancy in three ways: preventing ovulation, thickening cervical mucus so sperm cells are less able to get to or into the cervix, making the lining of the uterus less hospitable for a fertilized egg to implant in.
Ah, I see! Perhaps I’m confusing it with the three hour window rule for the mini pill. My sister also explained to me that it takes a while for hormones to leave my system, which makes sense seeing as I stop taking pills on a Sunday and usually get my period that Tuesday.
That's an easy thing to get mixed up! And you're right that the mini-pill has a much smaller window of time where you can miss it than the combination pill does.