Starting a Contraceptive: Days of Back-Up (CDC 2024)
Days of back-up contraception when starting a method, by CDC's 2024 recommendations.
Open the tool → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Method being started
- Combined pill, patch or ring
- Date menstrual bleeding started
- 2026-10-01
- Date the method is started or placed
- 2026-10-06
Result: Back-up for the next 7 days (CDC).
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What you enter
- Method being started
- Date menstrual bleeding started (YYYY-MM-DD)
- Date the method is started or placed (YYYY-MM-DD)
How this is calculated
Citation
CDC. U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use, 2024. MMWR Recomm Rep 2024;73(RR-3):1-77: Need for Back-Up Contraception under each method, and Box 3. Menstruating patients only; CDC, not the product label. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.