Birth control pills, also known as oral contraceptives, are a very effective form of contraception. This method of birth control works by altering the body's hormone balance; the hormones in the birth control pill disrupt the rise of certain other hormones that are necessary for ovulation to occur. Sometimes, however, a woman taking these pills will become pregnant, particularly if she occasionally forgets to take the pill or takes them at different times each day. If this happens, it is important to carefully stop taking the birth control pill.
Step 1
Confirm your pregnancy. Stopping using oral contraceptives is recommended if you are pregnant, but home pregnancy tests can be inaccurate. Utilize a second home pregnancy test or have your doctor perform a more accurate pregnancy test so that you do not needlessly stop using oral contraceptives. Stopping birth control as a result of a falsely positive pregnancy test can allow you to become pregnant; if you want to stop taking oral contraceptives immediately, make sure that you use some other form of birth control, such as condoms, a diaphragm, or spermicidal products to avoid an inadvertent pregnancy.
Step 2
Stop taking birth control pills. According to the Mayo Clinic, accidentally taking birth control pills while pregnant is not uncommon for women who become pregnant while using oral contraceptives. Although this activity is not a great concern, it is important to stop taking the pills as there is a chance that the synthetic hormones could impede the baby's development. Because the dose of hormones in birth control pills is relatively low, women can simply stop taking their pills no matter how many are left in the pack; there is no need to try to gradually decrease the dose or to finish the pack.
Step 3
Have your baby's health regularly monitored and tested as the pregnancy continues. This is important to make sure that the accidental use of birth control pills and the associated elevated hormone levels did not cause any damage to the developing fetus. The Mayo Clinic notes that women who take birth control pills while pregnant might have babies with a lower birth rate. A 2007 article in the journal "Human and Experimental Toxicology," titled "Pregnancy outcome after exposure to oral contraceptives during the periconceptional period," found that there was not a significant elevation in birth defects among fetuses who were exposed to birth control pills, which means that the accidental use of birth control pills probably will not hurt your baby. On the other hand, this same study discovered that pregnant mothers who inadvertently used oral contraceptives were more likely to have babies with a lower birth weight.
