Emergency contraception or the morning after pill is a hormonal treatment administered if another form of birth control has failed, or when no protection was used. There are many resemblances between the morning after pill and the regular hormonal pill since the ingredients are the same. Nevertheless, the concentrations are different, which makes the regular use of the morning after pill a potential health threat.
Take the morning after pill as soon as you can after unprotected sex. Normally it can be used within three or five days after intercourse, but the sooner you act, the better for you. The efficiency is higher when you use the pill earlier. Do not mistake this birth control method for the abortion pill, because this is not the effect it produces. Its action at the level of the reproductive system consist in the prevention of the ovulation and the alteration of the womb lining so as to become unsuitable for egg nesting.
The morning after pill has similar side effects with the regular hormonal pill, and the efficiency rate is pretty high. The usual adverse reactions to hormonal treatments may appear nonetheless: nausea, headaches, breast tenderness and spotting. Read the list of instructions carefully and check the side effects in detail. The morning after pill should not be used by women who suffer from severe liver disease or porphyria. The efficiency of the morning after pill could be impaired by other drugs or by some herbal supplements.
Get a drug prescription right away if you need the morning after pill. Do specify that you need the morning after pill urgently, in order not to be appointed for some later date. The sooner you act, the higher the risk of unwanted pregnancy. Sometimes you may not even need a prescription to buy emergency contraception; the policy differs from state to state. The only downside is the cost, as the prices are a lot higher in pharmacies. Emergency contraception can be accessed freely with certain organizations, but you need to know where to call.
The morning after pill does not protect you for the entire menstrual cycle, and after you take it you are again exposed to the appearance of pregnancy if you don’t use another birth control method. Do not take more emergency contraceptives in the same month because of the health risks that hormonal imbalances could lead to. Rely on some serious birth control method or abstain from sex.
Tags: birth control, morning after pill
