A lot of people think that their birth control takes a vacation during their placebo week. Good news, it’s not true.

The way your placebo week works depends on your pill. You may skip a full week of pills, or you may actually take a week of pills without the hormones. This is typically when people on the pill will get their period. If you’re taking the pill correctly — starting every new pack the day after you finish the old one, or the day after your week of no-pills — there will be no decrease in the effectiveness of the pill during that week. It doesn’t matter if you get your period or not.