when will my birth control be effective?

Hi stripey.socks, You should be protected by now. Here are the facts though. It depends on what kind of birth control pills you are taking, if you are taking combination pills and start taking them five days after the start of your period, you are protected right away, and do not need a backup method of birth control. If you start them at any other time in your menstrual cycle, you will need to use another method and will be protected from pregnancy after seven days.

If you are using progestin pills, you can start them at any time & will be protected after 48 hours, you will need to use another form of birth control until then. 

If yours are combo pills, and you started on the 5th day of your cycle, & have been taking for a week, you should be protected. If you are taking the progestin pills, you are protected as well. I hope this has been helpful. :-)