Faulty packaging forces birth control recall

Bristol-Myers said it is unlikely a woman would get pregnant as a result of the mix-up. But the pills' Food and Drug Administration-approved labeling advises women to use a back-up contraceptive to be sure.

Ovcon 35 comes in a blister-pack with four rows of seven tablets. The rows represent weeks, and the tablets are to be taken in order. The first three rows of peach-colored tablets contain birth control hormones, while the last row contains green-colored dummy pills that are taken during menstruation.

About a half-dozen packages have been discovered in one Ovcon batch that had the green dummy pills positioned to be taken during Week 1 instead of Week 4, Bristol-Myers said.

The batch is Lot No. H6J272A. No other batches of Ovcon are affected, the company said.

FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said women should check the tablets' colors and understand that the green pills should be not be the first ones used.

Under the recall, women who have Ovcon that contains the lot No. H6J272A may return it to their pharmacies for a free replacement.

Taking the dummy pills during the wrong week could temporarily disrupt a woman's menstrual cycle, Bristol-Myers said.