Emergency Contraception 

Emergency contraception is a form of birth control. It is a pill taken after unprotected sex. For example, if your regular birth control fails (the condom breaks during sex), if you forget to take your birth control pills, or if you have sex without using any birth control, you could use emergency contraception.

How Do I Use Emergency Contraception?

The most common brand of emergency contraception taken is called Plan B®, which contains only the hormone, Progestin. A progestin-only contraceptive is one kind of birth control pill. It is often called the “mini-pill.” Regular birth control pills have 2 female hormones: estrogen and progesterone. The mini-pill has only progesterone in it. Because this pill doesn’t contain estrogen, it may not have as many side effects. (Progestin and progesterone are the same hormone.) It should be taken within 3 days (72 hours) of unprotected sex and can reduce the risk of pregnancy by 89%. But the sooner you take it the more effective it will be. Preven is another brand of emergency contraception, which is administered by taking 2 pills within 120 hours after unprotected sex and 2 more pills 12 hours later.

How Does Emergency Contraception Work?

Pills used for emergency contraception can prevent your ovaries from releasing an egg, can prevent an egg from being fertilized by sperm or can prevent a fertilized egg from attaching itself to the wall of the uterus. Emergency contraceptive pills are not the same as the medicine known as the “abortion pill.” The “abortion pill” is medicine that is taken in the early weeks of pregnancy to end the pregnancy. Pills used as emergency contraception can’t end a pregnancy once a fertilized egg has attached itself to the wall of the uterus.

No studies have shown that taking hormones while you are pregnant can hurt your baby. But, if you know you are pregnant, you should not take emergency contraception pills.

How Effective Is Emergency Contraception?

Emergency contraception pills can be very effective if they are used in time. If used within 72 hours of unprotect sex, only about 1 to 2 percent of women become pregnant after using them. It is important to remember that these pills will work best when taken as soon as possible after unprotected sex.

It is also important to remember that using this type of contraception on a regular basis is less effective than using ongoing methods of contraception (like contraception pills or diaphragms). Emergency contraception should not be your main type of contraception.

Are There Any Side Effects?

Some women feel sick to their stomach after they take emergency contraceptive pills. This feeling should go away in about two days. Your doctor can give you medicine that may help you feel better. Progestin-only pills may not make you feel as sick as pills containing estrogen and progestin. If you throw up within one hour of taking the pills, you may need to take another dose. Talk to your doctor.

Who Can Use Emergency Contraception?

If you can take regular birth control pills, you should be able to take emergency contraception pills. If you are pregnant, have breast cancer, or have had blood clots, you should not use emergency contraception pills. Talk with your doctor about whether emergency contraception is right for you.

When Do I Need To Start Taking My Regular Birth Control Again?

After you take emergency contraception pills, your period may come earlier or later than usual. Call your doctor if you do not get your period within 21 days after taking the pills. If your regular form of birth control is condoms, spermicides or a diaphragm, you may go back to using them right away after taking emergency contraception pills. If your regular form of birth control is the pill, contraceptive shot, contraceptive patch or vaginal ring, talk to your doctor about when to start using it again.

Where Can I Get Emergency Contraception?