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- Stay calm, but do not delay seeking advice: emergency contraception and the next steps are time-sensitive.
- Check the brand, active ingredient, pill type, position in the pack and whether the missed tablet contained active hormones or was a placebo.
- Note how many pills were late or missed, when you last took one correctly and when sex without a condom took place.
- Combined and progestogen-only pills have different rules; different progestogen-only pills also have different allowances for late doses.
- Use a condom or avoid sex that could cause pregnancy until product-specific instructions confirm that protection has been restored.
- A normal bleed does not completely rule out pregnancy, and no bleeding does not prove pregnancy.
- If you repeatedly forget pills, a coil (intrauterine device), implant or another method without daily dosing may suit you better.
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