Getting pg on bcp - it's fault or yours?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2004
Getting pg on bcp - it's fault or yours?
8
Thu, 05-20-2004 - 3:12pm
Hello Ladies,

I keep hearing all these stories about women who've gotten pg whilst on the pill, they're starting to scare me in fact (I'm on marvelon and haven't been using backup protection as we're monogamous and std free). So I was wondering, for those of you who have gotten pg on the pill - was it due to your own carelessness (ie, forgotten pills, antibiotic use, not using backup after vomiting or diherrea) or was it pure pill failure?

Please let me know

Thank you,

Laura
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2004
Thu, 05-20-2004 - 10:08pm
*bump*
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-16-2003
Thu, 05-20-2004 - 10:57pm
I can't speak from personal experience, but my friend Katie was using Alesse and got pregnant. She swears that she took it correctly at the same time everyday, and did not take any other meds that could interfere. Some women just fall under that 1% chance. It's rare, but it does happen.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2003
Thu, 05-20-2004 - 11:58pm
Mine was pill failure with perfect use, after nine + years of use.

I also had wildly irregular bleeding while on the pill, I do wonder if it is related, though the doctors always said the bleeding was unrelaated.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 05-21-2004 - 8:46am
MOST of the time, pill pregnancies are a result of user error, whether the user realizes that she was taking the pill incorrectly or not. cl-marrymeflyfree posted some statistics a month or so ago about how many women *aren't* taking the pill correctly, it's pretty scary! That's one reason why we tell women often what "correct" is--same time every day within 2 hours of a target time, use backup 7 days if you miss even one pill, it's absolutely vital to start a new pack on time (the number of women who start late is really alarming), you have to use backup for seven days if you have vomiting or diarrhea within 2 hours of taking a pill, you have to use backup during and following taking certain prescription drugs, some herbal supplements may interfere with the metabolism of the pill.... It's not as simple as taking an aspirin for a headache, but with the way that doctors prescribe it you'd think it was.

The one person I know who got pregnant while on the pill admitted that she wasn't taking it exactly like she was supposed to....happyjusttwo is an exception to the general rule in the 1% for whom the pill isn't effective, I think her bleeding *was* related to pill failure, but I'm not a doctor (so what do I know?), but realistically the only method of bc that is 100% effective is abstinence.

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2004
Fri, 05-21-2004 - 9:32am
I just found out I'm pregnant, and that my neice was a pill baby, as well as my SO's neice.

I've been on Birth control (OTC-Lo).. I had diarrhea and was unaware that I became unprotected, doesn't mean I didn't take it every day. I thought I was late taking a pill but then realized I was early as I had adjusted my schedule and my memory is very poor so I had forgotten I did this until I viewed the dates on my pill pack. I had a week of diarrhea and stomach virus type problems during my first week on the new pack that started a few days before my pill pack was to start.

My neice was a pure pill failure.

My SO's neice was just 1 missed pill.

I keep wondering if the pill needs to be specifically tuned to each individual woman, one size surely can't fit all, right?

Edited 5/21/2004 9:37 am ET ET by crims0n


Edited 5/21/2004 9:38 am ET ET by crims0n


_________________________

Gen & baby #1 EDD 01/27/05

My Two babies
Natasha & Baxter




iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2004
Fri, 05-21-2004 - 7:19pm
Just wanted to comment that I have learned so much lurking on here. When my doctor prescribed the pill for me (my first time on the pill) she just handed me the prescription and said "Take one every day. Couldn't be easier." Not that it is extremely complicated :) But I feel like she should have warned me about when backup is needed.


CL for Acne

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2003
Sat, 05-22-2004 - 7:11am
I became pregnant while taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen. I always took my pill on time, and I know for a fact that I did not have any vomitting or diarrhea the month that I got pregnant. I'll admit that, for a few months, I did take St. John's Wort, which I later found out may decrease pill effeciveness. However, I don't think I was taking it when I became pregnant because I don't remember thinking to myself that I needed to stop taking it to avoid hurting the baby as I did for caffeine and alcohol.

I also know someone who claimed she became pregnant while on the pill. I later found out that she had lied and had intentionally gotten pregnant. This makes me wonder how many pill "failures" are intentional pregnancies.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-15-2004
Sat, 05-22-2004 - 3:00pm
I've never been on the pill but my aunt and a few friends have become pregnant while on the pill. For them it was their fault. My aunt had the flu and although she took the pill every day at the same time got pregnant. I've known a few friends who have gotten pregnant on the pill because they were taking medication that interacted with it. I haven't known anyone to get pregnant while on the pill without fault of their own but I suppose it is possible as no birth control is 100% effective. I have heard that weight over a certain limit could be a reason the pill isn't as effective as well but there is a debate over whether that is true or not.