I am new on taking birth control pills; I am on the 12th day of taking my first package and had unprotected sex with my boyfriend. What are the chances of getting pregnant? I read that it normally takes 7 days for the pills to work - when it comes to this subject, the information available online (AND on the instructions sheet) are bland and unorganised...

Also, I would like to know what is the safe-limit of forgetting a pill? For example: if I forget to take a pill at the normal time, how many hours do I have to safely take the pill? I heard there's an 8-hour safety limit... this applying to the combination pill, Alesse.

From professional and personal experience I can tell you that it's best for you to wait for a full month of taking the pill for it to be effective. Also, while the failure rate is low, it does happen. I had 2 children while using the pill faithfully AND a condom.