Birth control and protection during sugar pills

Dear Ask The Doctor: I'm on birth control and it gives me a seven day period of sugar pills so that i can have a period. my period always starts three days after my pills end and lasts for four days and then i start up my pills all over again. my question is, during that seven day period, if i have sex on one of the three days before my period starts, can i get pregnant since i'm not technically taking any pills?

Dear Shelly: Although the birth control pill is never 100% effective, the chances of you getting pregnant are next to none if you take them properly. Even while on the sugar pills, you are still protected from becoming pregnant.