Unusually Light Period While on the Pill
QUESTION
Dear Midwife,
I am 31 years old and have two children. I am on the pill and have been since I was sixteen. I have always had extremely predictable periods with heavy bleeding during the second and third days. This month my period was extremely light, barely enough for a pantyliner, for about three days. My last week of pills was a bit off schedule. I missed one and took it the next morning and missed another and took two the next night. I took a pregnancy test and it is negative, however, I am still wondering if I could be pregnant because my period was so irregular. Should I start my next pack of pills as scheduled on Sunday or wait another week just to make sure?
ANSWER
If you do not wish to be pregnant, DO NOT wait to start your new pill pack, take it on time! Otherwise, your chances of becoming pregnant actually increase. There are many reasons other than pregnancy why your period might have been light. If it happens a second time, you should inform your provider, who may want to either change your pill, run some tests, or just ignore it and call you lucky, depending on your individual details.
Meanwhile, do be very careful to take each pill as prescribed. No use taking chances!
-- Cynthia, CNM
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.
