A. I'll try to make this as clear as possible for you.
Birth control pills contain two hormones, estrogen and progestin. They work by preventing ovulation. But in order to do this, they must be used every day, at the same time of day, from the beginning of your cycle.
Birth control pills on the market today have a variety of packaging methods. Some brands deliver the same amount of hormones in every pill while others deliver different amounts in different pills and they colour-code them to emphasize this to you, the user. (It also makes for pretty packages with nice shapes or colours, etc.) And to top it all off, there are a number of acceptable ways to begin your new package of pills. Let me give you the two most common:
THE SUNDAY START
Start taking your pills the first Sunday after you start your period. So, if you get your period Wednesday, you start on Sunday. If you get your period Friday, start on Sunday. If you get your period on SUNDAY, start the SAME day. Clear?
The purpose of this schedule is two-fold. First of all, you always remember that it is on a Sunday you will be beginning a new pack (in case you are one of those who throws out the last 7 pills). And second of all, this schedule allows most women to have their periods during the week and not on the weekends.
THE FIRST DAY OF YOUR PERIOD START
Self-explanatory. In this schedule, you begin your pills on the first day of your period.
No matter which way you begin, if you do it right, take them every day around the same time and don't miss any, you do not need a back-up method the first month. But often we advise you use something else the first month because it's hard to remember to take a pill every day when you're just starting.
And as for those green pills at the end of your pack, yes, the last 7 pills ARE sugar pills. Sometime during 7 days you are taking these pills you will get your period. No, you don't need to take them, but doing so will help keep you used to taking a pill every day.
- How birth control pills work.
- Does my body need a break from the pill?
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