What do I do if I make a mistake with the ring?

What do I do if I forget to change my birth control ring, or it's out for too long?

If you’re using NuvaRing: 
Here’s a handy tool to help you figure out what to do if something goes wrong. If you’ve already had sex in the last 5 days since making a ring mistake, you may want to use emergency contraception.

If you’re using Annovera and you:

• Leave the Annovera ring out of your vagina for more than 2 hours at one time

• Leave the Annovera ring out of your vagina at different times that add up to more than 2 hours total during the 21 days you’re supposed to have it in

• Don’t put the Annovera ring back in your vagina on time after your ring-free week

Wash the ring with soap and water and put it back in as soon as you can. Then use a backup birth control method (like condoms) until the ring has been back in your vagina for 7 days in a row. If you’ve already had sex in the last 5 days since making a ring mistake, you may want to use emergency contraception.

If you leave Annovera in your vagina for more than 21 days, that’s OK. Just take it out for 7 days as soon as you can and restart your normal schedule — after 7 ring-free days, put the ring back in for 21 days, and repeat. You don’t need backup birth control or emergency contraception.