In the UK, you’re given a pack containing 21 Pills and you take one every day for three weeks. At the end of those three weeks, you ‘break’ for a week. During those seven days, you’ll have your period. It’s stopping the Pill at the end of the pack that brings on the period. After the week’s break, you start on your next packet. So it’s ‘three weeks on and one week off’ throughout the year. If you want to, you can set your mobile phone so that it beeps at the same time every day, to remind you to take your Pill. Go to a GP or a family planning clinic to get a prescription. In Britain, it is now the practice to take your first-ever Pill on the first day of your period. If you do this, you should be protected immediately – so you can have sex whenever you like. Practices vary in other countries, and their Pill packs may contain more than 21. In the USA, it is extremely common for women to be given packs containing 28 tablets – but seven of them are ‘dummies.’ These dummy tablets are taken during the week’s break from the Pill, and the idea is to try and make it easier to remember to swallow a tablet at the same time every day!

No, there is no other way to still be protected by The Pill if you don't take your first ever pill on the first day of your period. If you miss that first day, you can start taking the pills whenever you want, but you won't be protected until your second pack of pills. So, if you missed taking your first ever pill on the first day of your period, then the ONLY way to be protected against getting pregnant during this month (regardless of whether you still take the pills or not, starting on another day) is if you use other contraception, such as a condom.