Are you still protected if you switch the time of day you take your birth control pills during your placebo week?

Answer 1

Sure. The placebo week is just that -- a placebo, often in the form of pink sugar pills. It has absolutely no effect on the body whatsoever and serves only as a place-counter for the week of a woman's period. You could decide not take the placebo pills at all and you would still be protected. Although pregnancy can theoretically occur at any time during the month, most pregnancies happen during ovulation, which occurs approx. 10 days before the start of a normal menstrual period. When a woman is on birth control, even this is controled to prevent ovulation in any form at any time of the month. However, changing the time you take your real, non-placebo Birth Control pills may lead to your body misunderstanding its own cues and spontaneously ovulating. I would guess that this is very rare, as you can miss completely up to 2 days of taking the pill without it losing its effectiveness. If you want to change the time that you take your pill to a consistently different time, wait until the start of a new cycle to do it. For more in depth questions or if you think you are pregnant, please contact your doctor.