Have you had unprotected sex within the last few days? To help prevent the chance of pregnancy you can take a Morning After Pill, often known as Plan B. The key with Emergency Birth Control Pills is that they need to be taken as soon as possible. When taken correctly, emergency birth control stops over half of all unwanted pregnancies.
Unwanted pregnancies can happen for so many reasons, just to name a few:
- Taking birth control pills incorrectly, forgetting pills
- Condom breaks
- Rape
Sometimes contraceptives fail, other times no contraceptives are used at all, in either case the Morning After Pill can help. So how do you access emergency contraceptives and how do they really work? Read on to learn more about the Morning After Pill.
How Do You Get The Morning After Pill?
Women 17 years and older can access the Morning After Pill by simply visiting the local pharmacy.
Girls younger than 17 are advised to obtain a prescription from a health care provider before accessing the Morning After Pill. This might be something you want to keep private, and you don’t want to waste any time waiting for an appointment with your primary care doctor. The sooner you are able to access the Morning After Pill, the more likely it is going to be effective. Taking all of this into consideration, visiting Urgent Care is often the best option. There are steps toward making the morning after pill available to all ages without a prescription, but this is still pending.
Different Types Of Emergency Contraceptives
The original emergency contraceptive is Plan B One-Step, which also comes in generic form—Take Acton, My Way, and Next Choice One Dose, just to name a few. Purchased from the pharmacy these typically cost between $35 and $50 and can be found on the family planning isle. These products are labeled for women 17 and older, but you should not be asked for your ID at the time of purchase.
A newer brand of emergency contraceptive approved by the FDA is ella. No matter your age, you can only get ella with a prescription. Ella is popular because it is proven to produce better results as it prevents pregnancy nearly two-thirds of the time when taken within 120-hours of having unprotected sex. On the other hand, you must take the traditional Plan B pill within 72-hours of unprotected sexual intercourse.
What Does The Morning After Pill Do?
The Morning After Pill includes 2 separate doses, each taken 12 hours apart. Compared with regular daily birth control pills, the Morning After Pill has a much higher concentration of hormones. Some types are made with the hormone progestin, while other pills are formed using both estrogen and progestin hormones. Depending on you and your body, a doctor can help decide the best type of emergency contraceptive. Pills that only have progestin are around 89% effective at preventing pregnancies. Pills that contain both progestin and estrogen are 75% effective.
People often ask: how does the Morning After Pill work? When ingested the pill does a number of things, each aimed to stop the formation of pregnancy. Depending on what stage you might be in, the Morning After Pill stops 3 main things from happening:
- Ovulation—the pill stops the ovaries from releasing eggs
- Fertilization—the pill stops the fertilization process of egg and sperm
- Implantation—the pill works to stop a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus wall.
If you are not currently ovulating, the Morning After Pill is much more likely to work.
What Does The Morning After Pill NOT Do?
It does NOT terminate a pregnancy if you are already pregnant. The Morning After Pill is NOT the abortion pill. It prevents the formation of egg and sperm coming together. The Abortion Pill terminates a pregnancy after the formation has already occurred and the fertilized egg has attached to the uterus wall.
The Morning After Pill is not a regular form of birth control, and should never be considered as such. There are much better ways to prevent pregnancy, talking with a doctor about your concerns and needs can help you find an appropriate contraceptive measure.
Are There Side Effects With The Morning After Pill?
Some women experience nausea and even vomiting after taking the Morning After Pill. By visiting Urgent Care beforehand, we can offer you something in case this does happen in order to reduce discomfort. If nausea is too bad, you may need to stop taking the pills. Although only taking 1 of the pills increases your risk for pregnancy. Another thing patients’ notice is that their period comes sooner or later than usual and has a different consistency.
Unprotected sex not only puts you at risk for pregnancy, it also puts you at risk for getting an STD. At Urgent Medical Center we provide prescriptions for the Morning After Pill, and if necessary we can also provide STD testing. For the fast attention you need after having unprotected sex, Urgent Medical Center is your go-to destination.
