The morning after pills are a type of emergency contraception used to prevent pregnancy. They can help if you have unprotected sex without using birth control, or your method failed like if the condom broke, or you were sexually assaulted, or you missed a birth control pill. They work by preventing or delaying ovulation so there’s no egg to be fertilized. To clear up a common misconception, you’re not ending a pregnancy but rather preventing it. There’s a lot of confusion in pop culture about emergency contraceptive pills. Below are 5 facts you should know about them:
There Are Two Types of Morning after Pills
A pill with levonorgestrel: This is the most common type of emergency contraceptive pills. They are commonly referred to as Plan B One-Step, Next Choice, My Way, Take Action, and several other brand names. You can buy them over-the-counter in most drugstores and pharmacies –without a prescription. These pills should be taken within 72 hours.
A pill with ulipristal acetate: This is the most effective type of EC pill, and is available in one brand called Ella. You need a doctor’s prescription to get it though. It can be taken within 5 days after unprotected sex, and it’s just as effective on the fifth day as it is on the first.
They Are Not 100% Effective
While the EC pills significantly reduce the chances of a pregnancy occurring, they don’t work every time. Progestin-only EC pills are about 95% effective when taken within 24 hours. The longer you wait the less effective they become. The pill can make you feel sick; therefore, if you vomit within 3 hours of taking it, talk to your healthcare provider as you may need to repeat a dose. Another factor that contributes to the effectiveness of the pill is where you are in your cycle. As mentioned earlier, these pills prevent pregnancy by preventing or delaying ovulation. Therefore, the closer you are to your ovulation, the less effective the pill will be. If you’ve already ovulated, EC pills won’t help.
They Don’t Protect Against STIs
Unfortunately, the morning after pills won’t protect you against sexually transmitted infections. In that case, it’s important to get a sexual health screen if you had unprotected sex. STIs like HIV and Syphilis can take up to a month to show up on tests, with Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea taking up to two weeks. Also, note that EC pills don’t give future protection from unprotected sex. The pill is only good for one use, meaning any unprotected sex afterwards is a separate pregnancy risk. That being said, condoms are a great way to protect against STIs and unplanned pregnancies.
There’s No Maximum Number of Times You Can Take Them
Another common misconception is that you need to use EC pills sparingly, but that’s not true. You can take them again and again, even in the same cycle. There’s no evidence that it becomes less effective with continued use or that it causes fertility issues. But as the name suggests, emergency contraception should be reserved for emergencies and not as a regular form of contraception. This is because it’s not an effective form of birth control as it will fail 1 out of 8 times. You’ll also experience short-term side effects like irregular cycles, abdominal pain, nausea, and/or headache. Plus, it’s way more expensive. Talk to you Ob/Gyn to get a more sustainable contraceptive method like regular contraceptive pills, an implant, injection, etc.
They’re Not Just for the Morning After
The term morning after gives the impression that these pills can only be taken the morning after unprotected sex, which isn’t the case. There’s a 3-day pill and a 5-day pill, which we’ve already discussed above. However, the sooner you take the pill, the more effective it is. There are over a dozen brands of EC pills with different dosage, so do read the directions and package insert first.
The morning after pill works well as a safety net, but is still less effective at preventing pregnancy than other contraceptives. For more information about emergency contraception and other possible birth control options, talk to your local healthcare provider.
