Most of them give you a period once every three months rather than once a month. If you're interested in skipping or delaying your period for longer periods rather than just a week or month, some birth control pills are designed to lengthen times between periods.

By making the change a few months in advance (for instance, competitive athletes may do this if an important event like provincials or nationals is coming up) you give your body the very best chance of adjusting and of not having any period concerns on your big day.

If, for instance, you notice that in four months you need to delay your period by 10 days, extend the length of time you are taking your active pills by 10 days during your current cycle, instead of just during the month you need to skip your period.

To do this, you will need to look at your calendar well in advance.

X Trustworthy Source Mayo Clinic Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals Go to source If you make the switch earlier (by taking more active pills in an earlier month and then continuing the once a month routine), you body will have plenty of time to adjust to the change. A more 'certain' way to delay your period would be to begin adjusting your birth control regimen earlier - as in, a few months before the event for which you are trying to avoid having a period. The way the pills are packaged (normally with 21 active pills and seven inactive ones) is key for most women to keep track of how many pills they have taken and when they are supposed to take each kind.Īdjust your birth control regimen earlier. This way, you will not lose count in future cycles of using the birth control pill.

If you do this, most doctors advise to throw out the partially used pack of birth control pills (the pack you took the 'extra' pills from to get you through to the important event).

Then stop the active pills and take the seven inactive pills to allow a withdrawal bleed.

If it is a 'last-minute realization' that you want to delay your period, your best bet is to keep taking the 'active pills' all the way from day 21 through to when the event is over.

However, do not count on it being 100% effective as some women's bodies don't respond to such a 'sudden' change in their birth control regimen. This works most of the time for most people.

For the duration of time you are on the active pills, your body should not have a period. Take the 'active pills' for longer than 21 days. It was meant to mimic a person's natural menstrual cycle of approximately 28 days, but it is by no means essential to follow this ratio all of the time. The ratio of 21 to seven is quite arbitrary. It is not required that you follow the exact routine of 21 active pills followed by seven inactive pills.Here's how: X Trustworthy Source Mayo Clinic Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals Go to source However, if you have an important sporting event coming up, or a reason you want to delay your period, you can use your birth control pills to do so. You are then instructed to repeat the cycle every month: 21 days of active pills, followed by seven days of inactive pills. The pills are packaged this way to help keep you in your 'routine' of taking one pill a day, while allowing a withdrawal bleed (a period) during the days of inactive pills. Most birth control pills come in packs of 21 active pills (containing hormones), followed by seven inactive pills (placebo or 'sugar pills'). Use birth control pills to delay your period.

Taking birth control 2 minutes late