Emergency Contraception
What is Emergency Contraception (EC)?
Most people have heard about emergency contraception, or EC (sometimes
called the “morning-after pill”), but don’t know how
it works. EC is a high dose of the hormones used in regular birth
control pills. When taken correctly, EC can prevent pregnancy up to 72
hours after intercourse.
EC can be used when:
-
Contraception fails (like when the condom breaks), if a woman
forgets to take her birth control pill or
-
When you have unprotected sex
EC is also commonly offered to sexual assault victims to prevent
pregnancy.
Sometimes there is controversy around the issue of providing EC
because people do not understand how it works. In fact, EC is
sometimes confused with RU-486, the non-surgical abortion pill, but EC
does not cause an abortion.
Here is a brief lesson on how EC works:
In a normal menstrual cycle, usually 28 days, there are two phases:
the follicular phase (which occurs before
ovulation) and the luteal phase (which
occurs after ovulation)—anything that can alter the progression
of these two phases in the menstrual cycle can be used as emergency
contraception—EC.
There are four ways that EC can work depending on when it is taken
during the menstrual cycle:
-
If taken early in the cycle, EC can delay the development of the
egg in the ovary,
-
If taken mid-cycle, EC may prevent ovulation,
-
If taken immediately after ovulation, EC can interfere with
fertilization
-
If taken late in the cycle, EC can prevent the implantation of a
fertilized egg into the uterus.
There are several ways you can take EC. The most common method is the
YUZPE Plan, named after the Canadian gynecologist who created it. You
take 2 – 4 doses of hormones that are similar to those used in
standard oral contraceptives. This method is very effective at
preventing unintended pregnancy and there have been no reported
negative side effects as a result of using this plan.
If you think you may need to take EC, call your doctor right
away—remember, it’s only effective up to 72 hours after
unprotected sex!
If you want more information about EC, check out the web sites for the
Alan Guttmacher Institute or the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Visit these Emergency Contraception (EC) websites for more information:
Back Up Your Birth Control with Emergency Contraception
http://www.backupyourbirthcontrol.org/index.htm
The Emergency Contraception Website
http://ec.princeton.edu/
Find an EC Provider via area code or zip code
http://ec.princeton.edu/providers/index.html
Planned Parenthood
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/library/BIRTHCONTROL/EC.html
American Medical Women's Association
http://www.amwa-doc.org/Quiz/fact.htm
Advocates for Youth
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/factsheet/fsecp.htm
National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association
http://www.nfprha.org/pac/factsheets/ecps.asp
The AWARE Foundation is not responsible for the content of the individual sites listed herein, nor does providing a link constitute endorsement of a site.