The timing for taking birth control pills late depends on the type of pill you are using:
- For combination birth control pills, taking a pill up to 24 hours after the usual time is generally still within the effective window. If the pill is taken late but within 24 to 48 hours, it is advised to take the missed pill as soon as possible and continue with the pack as usual.
- If more than 48 hours have passed since the missed pill, you should take the most recent missed pill immediately (discarding others missed), continue taking the rest of the pack as usual (even if it means taking two pills in one day), and consider using a backup method like condoms for 7 days.
- For progestin-only pills (minipill), the window is much shorter—taking a pill more than 3 hours late means you should take the missed pill as soon as possible, then the next pill at the usual time, and use backup birth control for 48 hours after.
If the pill is missed early in the cycle or late in the previous cycle, emergency contraception may be considered, especially if unprotected sex occurred. In summary, you can generally take a combination birth control pill up to 24-48 hours late with continued protection, but beyond that, additional precautions like backup contraception or emergency contraception might be needed.
