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 "To tell a woman everything she may not do is to tell her what she can do." ~ Spanish Proverb
Emergency Contraception: Back up your birth control - In an emergency: If the condom breaks – you forget your pill – you had sex when you didn’t plan to – or want to..... You still have time to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
- Emergency contraception, aka the morning after pill = "Plan B" or EC: is available over-the-counter at local drug store. You have to request it at pharmacy counter. But just because they have been tagged "the morning after pill" doesn't mean you should wait 24 hours. All types of emergency contraception work best the sooner after unprotected intercourse you take them.
- Currently 3 types of emergency contraceptive pills available in the U.S., and there are different age restrictions by state, so it can be a bit confusing.
- Plan B,Plan B One-Step & Next Choice (all progestin-only) are approved for sale without prescription to women and men 17 and older. Ella is the newest EC on the U.S. market, and requires a prescription.
- In NYS the legal age to buy all but Ella, without a prescription is now 17. ***If you are 16 or younger: it is still safe and advisable: call me with your pharmacy's phone number and I will call in a prescription for you. (Even at night or on the weekend, please don't wait!)***
Emergency contraception: plan b or ella: both very safe to use after unprotected intercourse (condom breaks, gets left inside, wasn’t used at all, or date rape.) Plan b is now over the counter for women over 17. Ella requires a prescription. Both are effective in the first 24 hrs, ella is 90% effective up to 5 days later! This is not an abortion pill, it will not interrupt a pregnancy, it is safe for everyone. The first type of emergency contraceptive pill contains a hormone called progestin. Progestin-only pills can reduce your risk of getting pregnant by 88%. You are also less likely to have side effects if you use these pills for emergency contraception, as compared with combined pills. Ella: The second type of emergency contraceptive pill contains ulipristal acetate, and is available by prescription only in the United States (sold as ella) and Europe (sold as ellaOne). It has been found to be highly effective and well-tolerated. It can be taken up to 5 days after unprotected sex, and is believed to be more effective than levonorgestrel ECPs. The third type of emergency contraceptive pill uses both the hormones progestin and estrogen. Many brands of the combined daily birth control pill can be used for emergency contraception in the U.S. . These pills cut your chances of getting pregnant by 75%, and you are more likely to experience side effects like nausea and vomiting. - Uncomfortable? Send your boyfriend, if he is over 17!
- EC: the morning-after pill, is very safe for everyone
- EC: is NOT an abortion pill, will not hurt an established pregnancy.
- EC: can be taken up to 5 days after unprotected sex (works better sooner, though.)
- EC: is most effective if taken within 24 hours (90%), at 72 hrs (70%) and by 5 days (50%), it’s still worth a try. (Better than keeping your fingers crossed all month.)
- Effectiveness? Another way to say this: About 7 out of every 8 women who would have gotten pregnant will not become pregnant if they use EC within 24 hours.
- Unsure? If you're not sure if you should take it, condom broke, got left inside, etc..., call the office and we'll help you to decide. 914.214.8616.
- Cost: It's not free, unfortunately: it's about $45, an abortion cost: $200-2000+, and raising a child to age 18 costs about $250,000. Your peace of mind = priceless.
- Coupon: on their website: planbonestep.com, you can download a $10 off coupon to give to the pharmacist.
- Common Myth: Only works twice: When I go to the local high schools to discuss birth control among other things, I often get asked this excellent question: "is it true that emergency contraception only works twice, and then you cannot use it again?" No! You could theoretically have sex once ot twice a month and use EC as your "post-coital contraception" after each episode.
- Why not Plan A? A very astute high schooler from Horace Greeley responded, "if it's so good, why isn't Plan B, "Plan A"?
1. cost: regular daily birth control pills or the monthly nuvaring cost less than $20-30/month. 2. efficacy: most methods are 92-98% effective, at best EC is 90% 3. irregular bleeding: many young women will experience abnormal light bleeding episodes following EC.
"Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths." ~Lois Wyse |
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