pause pill for 4 instead of 7 days

[Tina87]

When I saw the nurse last time she kind of told me off for stopping to take the pill for 7 days and I should only pause for 4. This is really messing up my month as I always had a good rhythm going. I asked her again today as the instruction also say 7 days but she claims it got changed 2 years ago but pharmacy’s and instructions have not changed yet.

Anyone else heard that? Apparently you can still get pregnant if you pause for 7 days.

[Galen70]

I'm afraid that healthcare practitioner is slightly wrong . Here are the UK Faculty of reproductive health guidelines on taking the combined pill :

Traditional (standard) 21/7 CHC cycles were designed to induce a bleed each month, mimicking

naturally occurring menstrual cycles. There is, however, no health benefit from a monthly withdrawal

bleed, Errors in pill-taking (or patch or ring use) around the

HFI could result in extension of the HFI, risk of ovulation, and thus potential risk of pregnancy.

Tailored (non-standard) CHC regimens reduce the frequency of HFI (extended regimens), abolish

the HFI (continuous regimens) and/or shorten the HFI.

The GDG recommends that tailored CHC regimens suggested can be offered

as an alternative to 21/7 CHC regimens to widen contraceptive choice. Women should have access

to clear information (either written or digital) to support tailored CHC use.

The majority of COC in the UK is designed to be taken as 28-day cycles, with 21 consecutive daily

active pills followed by a 7-day HFI prior to starting the next packet of pills. The first seven pills inhibit

ovulation and the remaining 14 pills maintain anovulation. Traditionally women have then either

had seven pill-free days or taken seven placebo tablets; during this HFI, most women will have a

withdrawal bleed due to endometrial shedding. It should be made clear to women that this bleed

does not represent physiological menstruation and that it is has no health benefit.

fsrh.org/standards-and-guid...

In a nutshell - taking the pill like you did before - is absolutely fine. The nurse should have been offering other ways of taking it which may have some benefits over the standard way. But if you are a good pill taker, and prefer the standard way, that is absolutely fine.

I am sorry you felt pressurised into changing or that somehow you were doing something wrong.

[Anon0121_]

The bit about still possibly getting pregnant with the 7 day break sounds like a load of rubbish considering many many doctors still instruct you to take the full 7 but then again you may be on a different pill. Everyone I know is told to take 7 days.

My doctor is very strict and thorough with her main goal which is making sure we’re obvs safe on it and not getting pregnant and she’s always said to take the full 7 days.

You are allowed to shorten the break and it shouldn’t cause you any problems but everyone is different. My doctor tells me to keep everything on it consistent so for example take the same amount of days break every time and only run packs back to back if I have to.

Are you able to get advice from another doctor or even go to a clinic to get your pills instead?

The NHS would not allow wrong information surrounding the combined pill to be put out and I believe if you go on their website it will tell you at the bottom of the page when the information was last updated and I believe this is also the case if you type your specific pill in, the website that will come up will also have the most updated info. If they were giving out wrong information they’d be in a lot of trouble so not sure why your doctor seems to think that it’s a definite chance of pregnancy.

The chance of pregnancy will never be zero on the pill anyway

I’d ask for advice from another doctor

[Galen70 in reply to Anon0121_]

Shortening the break is absolutely fine. Lengthening it however can increase the chance of ovulation and therefore of unplanned pregnancy.

sexwise.org.uk/contraceptio...

[Anon0121_ in reply to Galen70]

Yes Exactly. I didn’t say for her to take more than a 7 day break, just simply informing that the nhs say a maximum of 7 days break, no more than that, but less than 7 days is also perfectly fine as long as no missed pills and the full 21 days have been taken