Pregnancy worries
Can I get pregnant while taking Trust pills?
Quick answer
Yes, but it is unlikely if you take it correctly. Combined pills like Trust (levonorgestrel + ethinylestradiol) are over 99.7% effective with perfect use and about 93% effective in typical use, because real life includes missed pills.[src] Most pregnancies on the pill come from missed pills, vomiting, a late new pack or interacting medicines.
What the numbers mean
The figures come from studies counting pregnancies per 100 women in the first year of use.[src][src] With perfect use, every pill on time, about 0.3 in 100 women get pregnant in a year. With typical use, the way most people actually take pills, it is about 7 in 100. The gap is almost all human error, not the pill failing on its own. That is good news: most of the risk is in your hands.
The 5 things that make Trust fail
- Missed hormone pills, especially 3 or more in a row. On a 30 mcg pill like Trust, WHO says 1 or 2 missed pills carry little or no risk. Three or more means condoms for 7 days.[src] See missing pills for 2 days.
- Starting the next pack late. The 7 brown tablets in Trust are iron, so the hormones already stop for a week. Starting a new pack late stretches that gap, and WHO treats it like missed pills at the start of a pack, the riskiest time.[src]
- Vomiting or severe diarrhoea. Vomiting within 2 hours of a pill means the pill may not have been absorbed.[src] Read what to do if you vomit.
- Interacting medicines. A few medicines speed up how your liver clears the pill's hormones. The best known is rifampicin, used for TB, which is common in the Philippines. Some epilepsy and HIV medicines do the same.[src] Always tell the doctor or health center you are on Trust. Most ordinary antibiotics are not in this group.
- Not yet protected when starting. If you started Trust more than 5 days after your period began, you need condoms for the first 7 days.[src]
If several of these happen often, a method you do not have to remember daily may suit you better. The implant and IUD are the most effective reversible methods.[src]
Signs and when to test
A light or missing bleed during the brown pills is common on Trust and on its own is not a sign of pregnancy.[src] Early pregnancy signs like nausea or sore breasts overlap with pill side effects, so they do not tell you much either. A home pregnancy test does. Testing from 21 days after the sex you are worried about gives a reliable answer.[src] A test costs from ₱64.75 and needs no prescription. Use our test timing tool to pick the date.
Keep taking Trust while you wait. If you had sex in the last 5 days after missing several pills, talk to a doctor today about emergency options.
Frequently asked questions
Mabubuntis ba ako kahit nag-Trust pills ako?
Posible pero maliit ang tsansa kung tama ang pag-inom. Karamihan ng pagbubuntis habang nag-pi-pills ay dahil sa nakalimutang pills, pagsusuka, late na pagsimula ng bagong pack, o gamot na nakakaapekto sa pills tulad ng rifampicin para sa TB.
Does Trust protect me during the brown pills?
Yes, as long as you took the 21 hormone pills correctly and start the next pack on time. The protection comes from those hormone pills, not from the iron tablets.
Can I take Trust if I might already be pregnant?
Take a pregnancy test and talk to a doctor. WHO says combined pills do not harm a pregnancy, but there is no reason to keep taking them once you know you are pregnant.
This guide is for information. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or switching birth control.
Sources
- Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers, WHO and Johns Hopkins CCP
- Effectiveness of family planning methods (chart), US CDC Added during build. [TODO: confirm exact chart URL]
- Managing missed pills (Family Planning Handbook), WHO and Johns Hopkins CCP
- Drug interactions with hormonal contraception (guideline), FSRH (UK) Added during build. [TODO: link the exact guideline page]
- Family planning / contraception methods (fact sheet), World Health Organization
- Combined pill: risks and side effects, NHS
- Doing a pregnancy test, NHS