A woman on a combined oral contraceptive pill realises she has missed ONE active pill, more than 24 hours late but less than 48 hours since the last pill was due. What should she be advised?

• A Take emergency contraception and restart next cycle
• B Take two pills now and use condoms for 7 days
• C Discard the pack and start a new pack immediately
• D Take the missed pill now, continue the rest as usual, no backup contraception needed ✓

Explanation

If only one active pill is missed (24 to less than 48 hours late), hormonal cover is considered adequate. The advice is to take the missed pill as soon as possible, take the remaining pills at the usual time, and no additional contraception is required. Backup contraception for 7 days plus missed-pill doubling applies when two or more consecutive pills are missed, because that risks escape ovulation.

Reference: WHO Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers, 2018 update ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.