Woman fell pregnant with triplets while on the pill

Amy Maxey, 28, said she was taking the pill 'every morning', however after feeling sick she took a test which revealed she was pregnant with not 1, but 3 babies. Photo / Amy Maxey / Facebook

A woman was shocked to learn that she was pregnant despite taking the pill "every day".

Amy Maxey, 28, from Northamptonshire, in the UK, took a pregnancy test when she began to feel "really sick and tired".

The test returned a positive result, but what she didn't realise was that she was expecting triplets.

After finding herself sleeping between 12 and 14 hours a day, the mum-to-be booked herself in for a private scan, where it was revealed she was carrying three babies.

"The first lady said there were two (babies) and she has to get another nurse to come in and check and then that one said there were three," Maxey told Daily Mail.

"I don't know how to describe it. I was literally like, 'What the hell, that's mad'."

Maxey said she takes the pill "every morning", adding that the news left her "shocked".

"Obviously I was worried at the same time but yeah, just very shocked. That's the only thing I can describe it as."

Maxey, who lives with her sister, will be raising the triplets on her own, as the babies' dad is not involved to help, she said.

Amy Maxey, 28, of the UK, said she was taking the pill 'every morning', however after feeling sick she took a test which revealed she was pregnant. Photo / Amy Maxey / Facebook

Her stepmother will care for the triplets three days a week once they are born while Maxey is at work, adding that she doesn't think she'll be able to afford childcare for all three.

"The next two weeks are pretty critical because by 28 weeks they could come pretty much any time so it's like looking after myself now and just making sure I get as much rest as possible," she told the publication.

Two of the triplets are identical, while the other triplet, is non-identical.

According to Medical News Today, birth control pills are a popular and effective method of contraception.

Amy Maxey, 28, said she was taking the pill 'every morning', however after feeling sick she took a test which revealed she was pregnant with not 1, but 3 babies. Photo / Amy Maxey / Facebook

However, some factors, such as missing pill days, vomiting, and taking certain medications, can reduce the effectiveness of the pill and may result in unintended pregnancies.

In Australia, one-in-10 have fallen pregnant while on the pill, a YouGov survey of 1000 women found.

Half those using the pill have had to resort to backup or emergency contraception such as condoms or the morning-after pill.

Almost one-in-three women forget to take their daily pill at least every six months and they report suffering stress and sleepless nights due to concern they may have fallen pregnant, the 2020 survey found.

Another woman, Hannah Donaghue also fell pregnant to triplets while she was taking birth control – and this was after she'd had two other kids while also on the pill.

Two of the triplets are identical, while the other triplet, is non-identical. Photo / Amy Maxey / Facebook

"I lay on the table and the sonographer ran the scanner over my stomach. 'There's one heartbeat,' she told Kidspot in 2019. 'And there's the second one'."

"I thought I'd misheard her.

But then the woman said something even more shocking.

"And there's the third one'," she announced.

"I thought she must have been joking. I was still in shock as she pointed out the three heartbeats flickering on the screen."

Donaghue said she has since given up on the pill.