Accidents Happen: When They Do, Use Emergency Contraception

By Joyce

Ever looked down in the midst of an athletic bout of sex and discovered that the condom has decided to finish before you did? Skipped a couple of pills and then forgot that you had? Risked having sex without using birth control, hoping that just this once it would be okay?

If any of these situations have happened to you, or if you were forced into sex against your will, you were probably terrified until your period showed up. Waiting in a cold sweat for your period to arrive is not your only option!

Emergency Contraception

You can prevent pregnancy even after sperm have wiggled their way into your body. It's called emergency contraception (EC for short) and it's easy to get, but you have to do it within 120 hours (five days) of the unwelcome sperm contact.

The emergency contraception (EC) pills are similar to regular birth control pills, but the type and dosage are key (the ones in your monthly pill pack may not be the right ones). EC pills will not end an existing pregnancy -- they can only prevent one from happening. That's why you have to act quickly. Once the fertilized egg embeds itself in the wall of the uterus, EC won't help you. If there's any chance you could already be pregnant, you might want to take a pregnancy test first.

You take two doses of EC pills, which are also progestin-only pills which contain no estrogen, known as Plan B®. The EC pills can make you nauseous and woozy. Women who have gone through this recommend taking the first dose mid-morning, so that you take your second dose (12 hours later) right about bedtime.

It helps if you sleep through the worst of the nausea, and sometimes motion sickness pills (from the drugstore) help, as well. Expect to have some irregular bleeding -- possibly an early or late period that may be heavier or lighter than usual.

EC pills are quite effective. They will reduce your risk of pregnancy by 75%.

But don't be fooled—this isn't any fun at all, so don't think of it as your everyday form of "birth control." It'll be much easier on your stomach and your system to use birth control, or another method to prevent pregnancy. And EC pills do nothing to keep you from getting sexually transmitted infections.

Another kind of emergency contraception is IUD insertion. If it's done within five days of the unprotected intercourse, inserting an IUD can reduce the risk of pregnancy by 99%. Usually, though, IUD's aren't recommended for teens.

Whatever type is best for you, EC is way better than carrying an unwanted child to term or having an abortion, and it's available to you if you act quickly.

This article was taken from www.teenwire.com

• EC pills are affordable and very easy to get—just call 1-800-967-PLAN
• You can also call 1-888-not-2-late to find out a list of EC providers in your area
• If you need EC after business hours, call 1-800-967-PLAN, leave a message and a nurse will call you back with an EC prescription for you to pick up at nearby pharmacy

EC is low-cost to no-cost and ranges from $0 - $71 (visit included) depending on a number of factors -- to find out an exact cost see our Cost Calculator