What should I do if I mess up using NuvaRing?

What do I do if my ring fell out?

It shouldn’t happen often, but sometimes the NuvaRing might slip out of your vagina. But don’t freak out — you can still prevent pregnancy. Here’s what to do:

• If the ring has been out of your vagina for less than 2 days, rinse it in cool water and put it back in right away. If you put it back in within 48 hours, you’ll still be protected from pregnancy.

• If the ring has been out of your vagina for more than 2 days (and you’re not on your ring-free week), wash the ring in cool water and put it back in right away. For the next 7 days, use a condom or internal condom to prevent pregnancy if you have vaginal sex. Use our app to find out more about what to do after a NuvaRing oopsie and to find out if you might need emergency contraception.

What do I do if I don’t change my ring on time?

If you make a ring mistake, we’ve got a cool app that can help you figure out what to do.

If you’d rather just read about it, here are the basics:

If you normally wear your ring for three weeks and forget to put in a new ring

If you don’t insert a new ring at the end of your ring-free week, put a new one in as soon as you can. Use condoms until you have had your ring in for 7 days in a row. Change your ring again 3 weeks later on the day of the week you put the new ring in. That day will be  your new “new ring” day.

If you normally wear your ring for three weeks and forget to take it out

Let’s say you meant to take your ring out after 3 weeks, but you forgot and now you’re sitting there in the middle of your 4th week, wondering what to do with the ring inside you. No worries: just keep it in for the rest of the week. At the end of the 4th week, take the old ring out and put a new one in. You’ll still be protected from pregnancy right away. You’ll probably skip your period though, and might have some random spotting.

If you normally wear your ring for a month straight

If you wore the ring for a month and didn’t change your ring on time, take the old one out out and put a new one in as soon as you can. Use condoms or internal condoms until you change your ring, and for 7 days after. Change your ring again in a month.

If you had sex since you made a mistake with the ring, you might want to use emergency contraception. Use our quiz to find out if that’s an option for you.