Emergency Contraceptive Pills
What It Is
Emergency Contraceptive Pills, also known as Morning After Pills or EC pills for short, have regular birth control hormones, like estrogen and/or progestin in them. EC pills are not abortion pills. In fact, if a woman takes them and she is pregnant, they will not hurt the pregnancy.
Plan BŪ is the only commercial brand of EC pills available in the U.S. It is available without prescription to girls over 18 years old.
Women can take EC Pills up to 5 days after unprotected sex to help prevent pregnancy. Examples of when EC pills can be taken are after having sex without using birth control or when a birth control method failed. (The condom broke, she missed birth control pills or her shot, etc.)
EC pills can be taken right away. If you are exposed to pregnancy, you can take them as soon as possible, even within a few minutes after sex. The sooner you take them, the better they work to prevent pregnancy. You can also take EC pills one, two, or even five days after unprotected sex and they will still work well. TOP
Effectiveness
If emergency contraceptive pills are taken within 24 hours of unprotected intercourse, they are about 95% effective in preventing pregnancy.
This means that 5 women out of 100 women who use ECs will become pregnant in one year.
If emergency contraceptive pills are taken after 24 hours and before 120 hours after unprotected intercourse, they are about 89% effective.
This means 11 women out of 100 women who use ECs will become pregnant in one year. TOP
Possible Side Effects
Some women may have some of these side effects for a day or so after taking EC pills:
- Upset stomach or vomiting
- Headache
- Changes in your period
- Your period might be earlier or later than usual.
- It could be lighter or heavier than usual.
- Tender breasts
- Tiredness
- Dizziness
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Safety
EC Pills do not work if you are already pregnant. If you take EC pills and don't know you are pregnant, it won't hurt you or your pregnancy. TOP
To Learn More
To learn more about emergency contraception, go to:
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