Today we have different contraceptive methods to control our birth rate. However, when these types of treatments fail or we have used them incorrectly, leaving us exposed to a possible unintended pregnancy, there is an emergency treatment known as a morning-after pill or pill, postcoital pill or emergency pill or pill.
The problem with this type of treatment is that many times we do not know exactly how we should take it correctly or in what type of cases we would have to use them. For instance, Can you take the morning-after pill while taking contraceptives? That is, can we use the morning after pill and oral contraceptives? If you want to solve your doubts about these contraceptive methods, we recommend that you continue reading this oneHOWTO article where we will explain what the postcoital pill is and in which cases we should
What is the morning after pill and how does it work
The morning after pill in a emergency contraceptive method It is used either when we have had unprotected sex or when the treatments we use regularly to prevent an unwanted pregnancy have not been effective or we have not used them correctly. As its name indicates, the postcoital pill It is not a contraceptive that can be used as a regular treatment since, in addition to not preventing pregnancy over time, it can also cause some negative consequences on our health due to its strong hormonal load. Here we talk more about the Side Effects of the morning after pill.
Generally, the morning after pill is composed of a synthetic hormone known as levonorgestrel (although there are also other types composed of ulipristal acetate), which considerably reduces the probability of pregnancy since it has the following main functions:
- Delays the fertilization process of sperm that have entered the vagina.
- If the egg has already detached from the ovaries, the postcoital lozenge will produce a much thicker cervical mucus to block the passage of sperm.
- If the sperm have succeeded in fertilizing the ovum, the pill will cause the ovum not to attach itself to the walls of the uterus, which is why it will end up being expelled by the body itself.
For the emergency pill to fulfill these functions, it will be essential that it be consumed as soon as possible. In fact, if it is taken during the first 24 hours will be 94% effective approximately. On the other hand, after 24 hours to 72 hours later, the effectiveness of this contraceptive will be from 85% to 58%. Learn more about how the morning-after pill works in this other post.
In which cases to take the emergency pill
As we have already advanced in the previous section, the morning after pill is considered an emergency contraceptive treatment, that is, it can only be used in specific cases to reduce the chances of an unwanted pregnancy. But what are these cases? Next, we explain in what types of situations can the morning-after pill be used:
- If you have had sexual intercourse without any type of protection: however, it is recommended that you start using a contraceptive such as a condom since the emergency pill cannot be used regularly and neither does it protect you against sexually transmitted diseases.
- If you use a diaphragm and it was positioned incorrectly: Although unlikely, it is possible that a diaphragm is broken or misplaced. If so, it is important that you take the emergency pill.
- If you used the condom in the wrong way: if the condom broke or was incorrectly placed during sexual intercourse, it is likely that you could get pregnant. It can also happen if the condom was expired or previously used.
- If the IUD came out accidentally: Sometimes it can happen that an IUD can slip out of place due to incorrect insertion. If this is your case and you have had sexual intercourse, it is advisable to use the postcoital pill to prevent pregnancy.
In this other oneHOWTO article we talk in more depth about when to take the morning after pill.
Can you take the morning-after pill while taking birth control? – the answer
In addition to the previous cases where the use of this emergency method is justified, some people wonder if they can take the morning-after pill if taking hormonal contraceptives, like the contraceptive pills monthly. The answer is that YES, it can be taken in the event that you have forgotten to take the contraceptive pill. However, this emergency method can only be used if the following requirements are met:
- If more than 12 hours have passed since the moment you had to take the contraceptive pill. However, if you are still between 1 and 12 hours later, you will only have to take the monthly contraceptive pill that was your turn to be protected against pregnancy.
- If you have forgotten one or more pills of the first week of taking, because if you have forgotten some of these pills and, in addition, you have had unprotected sex during the 7 days after the forgotten pill, it is advisable to take the emergency pill as soon as possible to avoid an unintended or desired pregnancy.
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