Remembering to take your birth control pill every day can be tough. Maybe you slept through your alarm and missed the time you normally pop it in your mouth. Maybe you got distracted at the office and completely forgot to open your blister pack that day, or maybe you left your packet at home by accident and didn't have time to run home and grab it. Are you still protected, even if you don't use the pill perfectly?

While it's best to take oral contraceptives at the exact same time each day, there is often a few hour window in which you're still protected, depending on the level of hormones in your medication. Low-hormone formulas leave your body faster, so it's more important that you remember to take them consistently. And if you miss a pill at the beginning of your cycle, you're more likely to wind up ovulating (and in danger of pregnancy) than if you miss one at the end.

If you miss more than one pill, you're definitely unprotected - so either abstain, or use a back-up contraceptive method, like a condom, for at least seven days.

As with all medications, you should take oral contraceptives exactly as your doctor prescribed them. If you're worried that you might not be protected or you might be taking your pills incorrectly, use a condom - and call your doctor.

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