Hailey Fe is a combination birth control pill that contains two hormones, a progestin and an estrogen, plus iron tablets for the days you’re not taking active pills. It’s a generic oral contraceptive, meaning it works the same way as brand-name pills with the same formulation but typically costs less. The “Fe” in the name stands for ferrous fumarate, the form of iron included in the pack.
How Hailey Fe Works
Like all combination birth control pills, Hailey Fe prevents pregnancy through three mechanisms. The primary one is stopping ovulation: the hormones signal your body to suppress the release of an egg each month. Beyond that, the pill thickens cervical mucus, making it harder for sperm to reach the uterus, and thins the uterine lining, which reduces the chance of a fertilized egg implanting.
In clinical trials, Hailey 24 Fe had a Pearl Index of 1.82, which means roughly 2 out of 100 women became pregnant over a year of use. That figure reflects real-world conditions in the trial, including occasional missed pills. With consistent, perfect use, the failure rate is lower.
What’s in the Pack
Hailey 24 Fe comes as a 28-day pack. You take 24 active hormone pills followed by 4 iron-only pills. The active pills contain norethindrone acetate (a progestin) and ethinyl estradiol (an estrogen). The four brown or non-hormone pills contain ferrous fumarate, a form of iron. These iron tablets aren’t just placeholders to keep you in the habit of taking a daily pill. They provide a small dose of iron during the days you’d normally have your withdrawal bleed, which can help offset the iron lost through menstrual bleeding.
Because you take 24 active pills instead of the traditional 21, your hormone-free window is only 4 days rather than 7. This shorter gap can mean lighter, shorter withdrawal bleeding for many women.
Common Side Effects
In a clinical trial of 743 women, the most frequently reported side effects were:
- Headache: 6.3%
- Yeast infections: 6.1%
- Nausea: 4.6%
- Menstrual cramps: 4.4%
- Breast tenderness: 3.4%
- Mood changes: 2.2% reported mood swings, 1.1% reported depression
- Acne: 2.7%
- Weight gain: 2.0%
Unscheduled bleeding, often called breakthrough bleeding or spotting, is also common, especially in the first few months. In the clinical trial, 24 to 38% of women experienced unscheduled bleeding per cycle over the first six months. This typically decreases as your body adjusts to the hormones, and most women see improvement after the third pack.
Who Should Not Take Hailey Fe
The most prominent safety warning applies to smokers over age 35. Cigarette smoking combined with combination birth control pills significantly raises the risk of serious cardiovascular events like blood clots, stroke, and heart attack. That risk climbs with both age and the number of cigarettes smoked. If you’re over 35 and smoke, combination pills like Hailey Fe are not an option.
Hailey Fe is also contraindicated if you have or have had:
- Deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the legs or lungs)
- Coronary artery disease or cerebrovascular disease
- Certain heart valve disorders or atrial fibrillation
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure
- Diabetes with vascular complications
- Migraine headaches with aura at any age, or any migraines if you’re over 35
- An inherited or acquired blood-clotting disorder
What to Do If You Miss a Pill
If you miss one active pill (meaning it’s been 24 to 48 hours since you should have taken it), take it as soon as you remember, even if that means taking two pills in one day. You don’t need backup contraception in this scenario.
If you miss two or more active pills in a row (48 hours or more since your last pill), take the most recent missed pill right away and discard any others you skipped. Continue taking the rest of the pack on schedule. You’ll need to use condoms or avoid intercourse until you’ve taken active pills for 7 consecutive days. If the missed pills were in the last week of active pills in the pack, skip the iron tablets entirely and start a new pack immediately to avoid extending your hormone-free gap.
If you missed pills during the first week of the pack and had unprotected sex in the previous five days, emergency contraception is worth considering.
Lighter Periods and Other Benefits
While Hailey Fe is prescribed specifically for pregnancy prevention, combination pills with this formulation often produce lighter and more predictable periods. The 24-day active pill schedule, with only a 4-day break, keeps hormone levels more stable than traditional 21/7 regimens. Many women find their withdrawal bleeds become shorter and less painful over time. The iron supplementation during those four days, while modest, can be a practical benefit for women prone to low iron levels from menstrual blood loss.
Some women also notice improvements in hormonal acne while on combination pills, though acne was listed as a side effect in 2.7% of trial participants, so the effect varies from person to person. Cycle regularity is one of the most reliable benefits: you’ll generally know exactly when your period will arrive each month.