WOMEN are told by their doctor to “take their pill at the same time every day”.

But this information is rather vague and in fact, does not apply to everyone in the same way. 

Each pill has a “safety window". As long as it's taken within that frame, you are protected from pregnancy. 

There are less than a handful of pills (out of the dozens on the UK market) that, without fail, must be taken at the exact same time every day. Others give a much broader time frame.

You may realise you are late taking your pill – say 9pm, rather than 10am.

But contrary to what you think, this does not necessarily mean you have missed it and are at risk of pregnancy.

This may surprise women, who have had multiple freak-outs when they forgot to take their pill for a few hours.

If you do miss a pill, you are not as adequately protected against pregnancy. 

The rules are complex because there are so many types of pill.

But here, we explain how each pill works, and exactly how long you have to take it every day.

The combined pill

The combined pill is taken every day for 21 days, followed by a seven-day break for the period.

It contains synthetic forms of progestogen and oestrogen. 

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All brands of the combined pill should be taken orally at the same time every day, within a 12-hour window. 

Microgynon, Rigevidon and Ovranette are examples of the combined pill and are the most commonly used type of contraceptive pill in the UK. 

Names (as of March 2022): Brevinor, Cilestl, Cilique, Cimizt, Daylette, Dianette, Eloine, Femodene ED, Femodene, Femodette, Gedarel, Katya, Levest, Lizinna, Loestrin, Logynon, Loryna, Lucette, Maexeni, Marvelon, Mercilon, Microgynon, Microlite, Milinette, Norimin, Norinyl-1, Ovranette, Qlaira, Rigevidon, Sunya, Yasmin, Zoely. 

What is the “safe window”?

The Lowdown – a detailed review platform for contraceptives where women can find tonnes of information from doctors – says for the standard combined pill, a “missed” pill is when more than 24 hours has passed since you were due to take it, and 48 hours since the last dose.

For example, if you took your pill at 8pm on Monday, and were supposed to take it at 8pm on Tuesday, but it is now 8pm on Wednesday, you have missed Sunday’s pill.

The progestogen only pill (traditional)

The progestogen pill is what it says on the tin – it only contains progestogen, not oestrogen.

The NHS says this pill “must be taken within three hours of the same time each day”.

These progestogen-only pills were developed less recently and are less common.

Names (as of March 2022): Micronor, Noriday, and the Norgeston.

What is the “safe window”?

This type of pill has the smallest safety window.

The Lowdown says “you really need to make sure you take these pills on time”. 

If you took your pill at 8pm on Monday evening, and by Tuesday night at 11pm you have still not taken your pill, you are no longer adequately protected. 

The progestogen only pill (desogestrel)

The desogestrel pill is the same as the progestogen pill, however as well as thickening the mucus in the cervix to stop the sperm reaching the egg, it also stops ovulation. 

These types of pills must be taken within 12 hours of the same time each day.

Names (as of March 2022): Aizea, Cerazette, Cerelle, Desogestrel, Desomono, Feanolla, Hana, Lovima and Zelleta. 

What is the “safe window”?

The Lowdown says the safety window for the desogestrel pill is 12 hours. You have 12 hours from the time you usually take your pill, to take it.

It means that, if you took your pill at 8pm on the Monday, you technically have until 8am on Wednesday to take the pill.

After this, you’ve missed it.

The contraceptive pill you MUST take at the same time every day

The traditional progestogen only pill must be taken within the same 3-hour window every day. It is the shortest safety window of all birth control pills.

The brands, as of March 2022, are:

• Micronor
• Noriday
• Norgeston

What should you do if you miss a pill?

The Lowdown says: “Missing a pill can make it less effective, as well as vomiting, some medications, poor absorption from digestive issues (not including irritable bowel syndrome) and not starting a new pack on time.

“These can all put you at risk of pregnancy, and may mean you need to use emergency contraception or additional birth control such as condoms.

“Always take your missed pill as soon as possible, sometimes this will mean you take two in one day.

“The advice on missed pills is different depending on whether you are using the progestogen-only pill or the combined pill, and also which brand of pill you are using.

“As long as you take your pill within the safe window, you are still protected against pregnancy. 

“However, traditional progestogen-only pills have a shorter safe window of 3 hours, so there may be a higher risk of missing your pill in this case.”

The website launched the missed pill calculator to help women more easily understand if they are at risk of pregnancy.

It asks the user questions – such as where they are in their packet and how many they've missed.

They will then be presented with one of 16 different outcomes, of which some will suggest that you may need to take urgent action, such as to get the emergency “morning after pill”.

Try the missed pill calculator for yourself here.

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