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Should I Stop Taking Birth Control Pills?

QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
My cycle has been WAY off since I've been on birth control (which has been for a year). This last period started a week early and has lasted for a week and a half. I had intercourse at the end of this long period and right after it happened, my period completely stopped. This is very odd for me.

I know on the package of the pills, it says that the pills you take during your period have "inert" ingredients in them. I plan on starting a new pack in a couple of days.

Two questions:

  1. Should I be concerned with being pregnant because of this weird period?
  2. If I do get pregnant, is it harmful to take the pill? (I don't want to stop taking the pill for fear of getting pregnant, obviously).

ANSWER

If I understand you correctly, you should have already started your new pack of pills. You should never be off active pills more than 7 days. But it sounds like you may not be on the right strength of pills. You should talk to your provider about what has been happening just to be sure.

You should start your new pack on time. There will be no harm if you are pregnant.

-- Cynthia, CNM. PhD.

Cynthia Flynn

Cynthia Flynn, CNM. PhD, is the General Director of the Family Health and Birth Center which provides prenatal, birth, postnatal, gynecological and primary health care to underserved women and their families in Washington, D.C. Recently Cynthia served as Associate Professor of Nursing at Seattle University. There she not only taught, but remained in full scope clinical midwifery practice at Valley Medical Center where she cared for pregnant and birthing women, and practices well-woman gynecology, family planning, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Cynthia founded Columbia Women's Clinic and Birth Center, where she took care of pregnant women and infants up to two weeks of age and attended both birth center and hospital births. Before Cynthia earned her CNM, she worked as a registered nurse in labor and delivery and postpartum and is a certified Doula and Doula trainer.