3 Reasons Woman Forget To Take Oral Contraceptives

Susan is a Senior Associate at a major accounting and auditing firm. Along with her stable career and healthy, active lifestyle, Susan also enjoys an intimate relationship with her boyfriend of one year, Tod. Due to Tod and Susan's personal preferences, they chose to use oral contraceptives as their method for birth control. They also chose to forgo the use of condoms since they both screened and tested negatively for sexually transmitted diseases. Their life was all well, money was not an issue. Their sex life was extraordinary and Tod, obviously, was very satisfied and happy with their choice of birth control. Then suddenly out of the blue, things became awry. Susan began to miss her menstrual cycles every month and the couple began to worry. A quick trip to the doctor's office confirmed her worst nightmare: Susan had become unexpectedly pregnant. Susan and Tod's story may sound familiar to you, or it may not. But the truth is that unplanned and unexpected pregnancies are a common occurrence and danger for every couple. Some argue that the best birth control method is abstinence – to abstain from sexual intercourse completely. Some also attribute the rise in unplanned pregnancies to an over-reliance on birth control methods, when they are never 100% guaranteed methods for preventing pregnancy. This has led to the recommended use of two or more birth control methods, such as combining condom use with oral contraceptives, or spermicides, to prevent pregnancy. While all of this is true and helpful, we sometimes overlook the cause of unplanned pregnancies to be the mistake forgetting a dose of birth control pills, which is a technique many couples could solely rely on. When only one form of birth control is used, it is crucially important to ensure that technique is being used properly and on time. Even missing one pill could raise the risk of pregnancy, even when it is already not 100% safe. So why do women forget to take oral contraceptives? Well, here are 3 common reasons they might do so. 1. Woman have a mindset that missing one is okay. This isn't so much a reason as it is a contributing factor to missing a dose. It is never okay to miss a birth control pill! Even missing one, according to many manufacturers, raises the risk pregnancy. Where does this mindset come from? Perhaps the idea that the pills are already affecting the reproduction cycle so there could be leeway to miss a pill, or a missed pill could easily be compensated for. Either way, make sure this mistake is not made! 2. Forgetting to get a new batch/prescription when their current prescription is soon to or already run out. Needs no explanation. Sexual intercourse is sometimes unplanned and spontaneous – so it is best to remember to refill the prescription as early as one month before the current prescription will run out. The last thing any couple wants to do is to flip the off switch on an impulse decision to have sexual intercourse, because they are out of oral contraceptives. 3. Not taking the pill at the same, regular time everyday. In my opinion, this is the biggest culprit of the three. Woman are required and recommended to set a regular time to take their birth control pills – and a cell phone reminder or alarm is recommended in case they forget to do so. A common time for administering a dose is before dinner time, or at lunch time. Without an alarm or a reminder, taking the pill at the same time everyday can be difficult. So there you have it, some of the culprits that contribute to women missing their dose of birth control pills. Make sure to avoid making these three mistakes so that you can continue to enjoy your stress free, sexually healthy lifestyle.