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Emergency Contraception What is Emergency Contraception (The Morning-After Pill)? Emergency Contraception is used to prevent pregnancy after sex occurs without any birth control (for example, if no condom was used). This is different than other methods of birth control that are used before or during sex to prevent pregnancy. Emergency Contraception can also be used to prevent pregnancy when a method is used but something goes wrong (for example, if you are using a condom and the condom breaks during sex). Emergency Contraception is simply a birth control pill that is taken in high doses. Emergency Contraception is legal in the United States and has been available for over 20 years. How effective is Emergency Contraception in preventing pregnancy? If Emergency Contraception is taken within 72 hours (3 days) of the unprotected sex, only 2% (2 out of 100) of women will become pregnant. For comparison, if a woman did not use Emergency Contraception and she had sex around the time she ovulated (makes an egg), her change of getting pregnant is about 30% (30 out of 100). but, Emergency Contraception only works this well if it is used as a back-up method for other birth control. If it is used as the only method of birth control, pregnancy will happen about 30% (30 out of 100) of the time. When should I think about using Emergency Contraception? When I have sex without any type of birth control. When we are using condoms and we think that the condom broke or fell off during sex. When I am using a diaphragm and I did not use it correctly or I notice a hole in it. When I am using birth control pills and I forget to take my pill for more than one day in a row and have sex without using a condom and spermicide. If a am raped. How do I take Emergency Contraception? You have up to 72 hours (3 days) after unprotected sex to take Emergency Contraception. You will swallow a couple of high-dose birth control pills and then 12 hours later take another dose. After taking the medication, you should get a pregnancy test if you do not get a period sometime during the next three weeks or if your period is very light. What type of side effects will I have? When you take Emergency Contraception, you may feel some minor side effects. Not everyone has these problems and they usually go away within one day. Nausea will happen in 50% (half) of the women Vomiting will happen in 25% (1 out of every 4) of women Breast tenderness Fluid retention (bloated feeling, water weight gain) Tiredness If you have any of these minor side effects and they don't go away after 2 days, call Planned Parenthood / Women's Health Services or your doctor. In very rare circumstances, there can be serious side effects from taking Emergency Contraception. These side effects are especially rare because the treatment is very short (only one day) but can include: High blood pressure Blood clots in your legs or lungs Heart attack Stroke If you have any of the following symptoms, call Women's Health Services or your doctor right away: Abdominal Pain (severe) Chest Pain (severe), shortness of breath or coughing up blood Headaches (severe) Eye problems: blurred vision, flashing lights or blindness Severe leg pain (calf or thigh) Are there other medicines that will make emergency contraception not work? No What happens if the Emergency Contraception doesn't work? If the Emergency Contraception doesn't work then you will become pregnant. This only happens to about 2% of the women who use Emergency Contraception correctly. If you do become pregnant, the medicines you took in Emergency Contraception will not affect the pregnancy. The medicines do not increase the chance of the pregnancy being abnormal. How do I get Emergency Contraception? Call Planned Parenthood / Women's Health Services, Inc. or your doctor if you need Emergency Contraception. Also, if necessary, you can go to the Emergency Room at Magee-Womens Hospital to get Emergency Contraception.