Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Emergency Contraception – Choices and Precautions

Emergency contraception is a birth control method for the prevention of pregnancy after unprotected sex or failure of regular contraception. Millions of women in the UK depend on emergency contraceptive pills, also known as the morning-after pills, to prevent unwanted pregnancies. These pills can help you in two scenarios:

  1. Contraceptive failure (condom got torn or you forgot to take your regular contraceptive pill)
  2. Unprotected sex (sex without condom or any other barrier method)

What are the options available to me?
 
As far as emergency contraceptives are concerned, you can choose either progestin-only pills or combined pills comprising oestrogen and progestin. Both methods of contraception are known as hormonal contraception. But you should always talk to your doctor before using any emergency birth control pills.

Familiar choice – ellaOne

 
In case you are looking for a contraceptive pill which you can trust as your second line of defense, it is always advisable to go for the one which many women have already chosen. ellaOne is one of the safest emergency contraceptive pills available in the UK now. It has an impressive success rate. It is estimated that 98 out of 100 women do succeed in avoiding pregnancies with ellaOne. But it must be taken within 120 hours from unprotected sex.

ellaOne is a progestin-only pill, containing ulipristal acetate as the active ingredient. The active ingredient of ellaOne is a synthetic version of a female sex hormone called progesterone. It stops the ovaries from releasing eggs and in doing so, prevents pregnancy. The pill is available in the strength of 30mg.

Levonelle – Be 'One Step' ahead with the 'morning after pill'

 
Another popular choice in the UK, Levonelle One Step is also called the 'morning after pill' because of its dosing schedule. You need to take the pill within 72 hours from unprotected intercourse. But in order to minimise the risk of pregnancy, you should take it immediately after sex. Studies show that Levonelle has been 95% effective in preventing unwanted pregnancies when taken within 24 hours from sex. This contraceptive drug has levonorgestral as its active ingredient. It works by preventing the ovaries from releasing eggs and also by altering the natural lining of the wombs. The medicine is available in the strength of 1500mcg.

Precautions

 
Emergency birth control pills neither protect you against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), nor do they terminate pregnancies. So it is always advisable to use condoms as the primary line of defence. Similarly, if you are already pregnant, emergency contraceptives won't help you in terminating the pregnancy.

You should not breastfeed immediately after taking ellaOne. Wait for at least 36 hours before you breastfeed again. While taking Levonelle, watch out for allergic reactions with levonorgestral. You should not take the morning after pill if you have liver problems. Tell your doctor in case you are taking any other medications for conditions such as epilepsy or any bacterial infections. If your next period gets delayed by more than a week, get a pregnancy test done.

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