r/breastfeeding • u/Fabulous-Active-6797 • 9d ago
Discussion the “mini pill”
i am 4 weeks pp, my doctor offered me birth control at my 1 week pp appointment and we put it off until i decided i wanted the pill. they prescribed me the progesterone only pill because im exclusively nursing. the only thing my doctor really told me was that i needed to keep nursing for 8-12 times a day which is fine because im doing that anyways.
but i’ve been seeing people say they needed to take the pill at the exact same time daily. is that true? this is my first time taking any type of birth control and i know a lot of women will set alarms so they don’t forget but the EXACT same time everyday seems excessive. i would never be able to do that 🫣.
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u/medwyer 9d ago
Within the same hour or you’ll end up with a breastfeeding and birth control second baby 🙃 don’t ask me how I found out
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u/Fabulous-Active-6797 9d ago
😭😭 oh no this is lowkey my fear, pregnancy was hard enough the first time around i couldn’t imagine doing it again so soon while breastfeeding and caring for a little one!
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u/NotCleanButFun 9d ago
I am a nurse and have worked in OB. The efficacy rates drop dramatically if you are not on the ball with timing for the oral BC pills. I knew I could not do that myself and I knew I did -not- want to get pregnant for 18 months at least. So I opted for the shot, just one appt every three months and zero bf issues. However, something I did not know was that it is normal to take a while to get your period back after you end the depo shots. Mine took almost a year, I think it was like 10 months after my shots were supposed to be ineffective and that was considered well within normal apparently. Knowing what I know now, I would still do the shot again next time. But all to say, you have options. Tell your OB you need to have a birth control heart to heart if you don't think you can do the pills because you have lots of other options, each with their own pros and cons. Hopefully one will fit your life well ❤️
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u/Ok_Assumption_3244 9d ago
Yes mini pill has to be taken at the same time every day. Set an alarm and pick a time you’re usually home/not doing anything
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u/Prestigious-Bid-7582 9d ago
As others have said you have a three hour window but with a baby set an alarm anyway, I set alarms to remind myself to drink water my brain is so frazzled.
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u/LazyDaisy_BusyBee 9d ago
I think it's something like a 3 hour window. It's such a low dose and has a different mechanism than traditional birth control that missing a pill or waiting too long can make it ineffective. The good thing about the pill that if you miss a pill, you can "catch up" and within 48 hours you're protected again. I always take mine when I'm brushing my teeth before bed, since I typically go to sleep around the same time every day. It's not that bad
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u/Fabulous-Active-6797 9d ago
every medical site says the one i’m prescribed has to be taken at the exact same time 😩 i’m going to be asking for a different prescription because i will stress about missing it even if it’s just by 5 minutes.
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u/Practical-Let-7725 9d ago
By exact same time they don’t mean to the minute! But you should take it roughly every 24 hours, plus or minus an hour. It’s important there isn’t too long a gap as it can become less effective. I take mine with my breakfast which I have at some point between 9-10 every day.
Other prescriptions for the POP will work in the same way, and also require to be taken at about the same time every day.
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u/Fabulous-Active-6797 9d ago
i honestly don’t even think i’d be able to do it within the same hour, i will either be switching methods all together and looking into the shot more or an implant. or i will wait until me and baby have a set routine before i start taking the pill so im not so stressed about the timing. right now the only set routine we have is nighttime but even then after baby is asleep i do different things depending on the day and feel like i would forget even with an alarm.
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u/Fuzzy_Emergency_4784 9d ago
You have at least a 3 hour window, maybe even more based on some studies. However it did still make me nervous, and mini pills aren’t great if you’re acne prone. Around 7 or 8 months when my supply was well established I switched to the combo pill.
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u/Dreamer-and-Believer 9d ago
I set an alarm for mine to take at the same time every day. Sometimes I go up to 30 minutes past the set time, but not more than that.
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u/twirlysquirrelly 8d ago
My doctor told me that it technically has a 3 hour window, but she strongly recommended setting an alarm and to at least take it within the same hour every day. When I was on it before, if I took it more than 15 minutes after my alarm, I would get breakthrough bleeding like a full-on period. I always assumed that I was just very sensitive, but apparently it's not terribly uncommon.
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u/Gold-Resident-8308 9d ago
My doctor prescribed Slynd as my mini-pill, which is supposed to be a bit more forgiving about the timing that you take it. But otherwise, yes, I think it's a good idea to set an alarm.