Nuvaring out for more than 3 hours

Home/A to Z resources/Sexual Health/Missed Birth Control Ring (NuvaRing)

More in this section...

In order for any birth control to be effective, it needs to be taken as directed. Timing and consistency are key! This fact sheet is to help you get back on track if you are late in removing or inserting a ring or if the ring falls out.

Please note that these are only recommendations. Consult your health care provider if you have any additional questions or concerns.

My ring has been out for less than three hours:

1. Rinse the ring off with lukewarm water and insert it as soon as possible.

2. Keep it in until your next scheduled ring removal day.

I forgot to insert my new ring, or my ring has been out for more than three hours:

During Week 1

Your ring has been out for more than three hours or you're not sure how long the ring has been out:

1. Insert your ring as soon as possible. 
2. Keep it in until your next scheduled ring removal day. 
3. Use back-up birth control (e.g. condoms) for the next seven days and consider using emergency contraception (Plan B™)

During Week 2 or 3

Your ring has been out for less than 72 hours (3 days):

1. Insert the ring as soon as possible.
2. Keep it in until your next scheduled ring removal day.
3. Start a new cycle with a new ring with no ring-free week.

Your ring has been out for more than 72 hours (3 days):

1. Insert your ring as soon as possible.
2. Keep it in until your next scheduled ring removal day.
3. Start a new cycle with a new ring with no ring-free week.
4. Use back-up birth control (e.g. condoms) for the next seven days and consider using emergency contraception (Plan B™)

If you forget to take the ring out:

Less than 28 days (i.e. up to one week too long):

1. Remove it.
2. Have a seven-day, ring-free interval, and then insert the next ring. You are still protected against pregnancy.

28 to 35 days:

1. Immediately remove it.
2. Insert a new ring without a ring-free interval.
3. Keep it in until your next scheduled ring removal day.

Greater than 35 days:

1. Immediately remove it.
2. Insert a new ring without a ring-free interval.
3. Keep it in until your next scheduled ring removal day.
4. Use back up birth control (e.g. condoms) for 7 days and consider using emergency contraception (Plan B™).

Still not sure what to do?

Visit the Sexuality and U website.
Call the KFL&A Public Health Sexual Health Information Line.

Reference:
Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. "Missed Hormonal Contraceptives: New Recommendations". November 2008.

The vaginal ring is kind of like a birth control underdog. Conversations about contraception often center around the pill or intrauterine devices. But the vaginal ring (sold under the name NuvaRing) can have a lot to offer, depending on what you’re looking for. Here are 14 things you should know about it.

1. NuvaRing is a flexible plastic loop that goes into your vagina and emits hormones to prevent an unintended pregnancy.

NuvaRing uses estrogen and progestin to keep your uterus unoccupied. “People have mysterious thoughts about it, but it really is like taking a combined hormonal birth control pill in another form,” Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale Medical School, tells SELF.

The estrogen suppresses ovulation, so your ovaries don’t release eggs for sperm to fertilize, and the progestin thickens your cervical mucus to make it harder for sperm to travel, the Mayo Clinic explains. The progestin also thins your uterine lining so that if an egg did happen to get fertilized, it wouldn’t be able to receive the nutrients it would need to grow.

What research has been done shows that with perfect use, NuvaRing has a failure rate of 0.3 percent. That means fewer than one woman out of 100 will get pregnant in the first year of using NuvaRing if they follow its instructions perfectly. With typical use (so, maybe you forget to insert and remove your ring exactly as you should), that number rises to nine women out of 100 getting pregnant in the first year of using NuvaRing. For what it’s worth, the birth control pill has the same failure rates, according to research estimates.

Another thing to keep in mind: NuvaRing doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted infections, so if you’re at risk for those, you should use barrier methods like condoms and dental dams during sex.

2. If you have very heavy or painful periods, NuvaRing may be able to help.

Thank NuvaRing’s progestin for this one. Since progestin reduces how much the lining of your uterus builds up, you can have a lighter flow during your period, Dr. Minkin says. Also, prostaglandins, which are hormone-like chemicals that create the hellish cramping tied to your period, come from your uterine lining, she explains. Less uterine lining can translate into fewer pain-inducing prostaglandins, so it’s really a win-win.

3. It’s one-size fits all (vaginas).

The ring itself is flexible, so it can bend and stretch to fit inside your vagina, Raquel Dardik, M.D., a gynecologist at NYU Langone Health, tells SELF. Sure, if you just had a vaginal delivery with a very big baby, this might not work for you in the immediate aftermath, Dr. Minkin says. But overall, NuvaRing should fit most people with vaginas. “I’ve never seen it not work for someone,” Dr. Minkin says.

4. To use the ring, you insert it at a certain time and remove it at the same time of day three weeks later. For some people, this makes it easier to deal with than the pill.

During your off-week without the ring, you’ll get a “period,” which is really just a withdrawal bleed due to the lack of additional hormones. After the off-week is over, you should insert a fresh ring on the same day and time as you did before, even if your period hasn’t stopped.

How long can a NuvaRing be out and still be effective?

Can I take out my NuvaRing for a few hours?

What happens if you leave NuvaRing in too long?

What happens if you put NuvaRing in a few hours late?