The morning after pill is an emergency contraception that helps prevent pregnancy after unprotected or poorly protected sex. Women under 30 years are the main users. But it is clear that nowadays, this method is common among young girls. Gaskiyani lets you know everything about this contraception ...
When to take the morning after pill ?
The morning after pill should not replace regular contraception and is used occasionally. It is an emergency contraceptive that can be taken at any time of the cycle in many situations, among others, after unsafe sex without contraception (if you took the pill with jet lag, if you have vomited or had diarrhea after taking the pill, if you do not take the pill and have had a condom accident) ; following a forgotten contraceptive
How to tell if the morning after pill has worked ?
The sooner the morning after pill is taken after risky intercourse, the more effective it is. Although effective at 95 % if you take it in 24 hours (its efficiency drops to 85 % the second day and at 58 % Come in 48 at 72 hours) after the risky relationship, the morning-after pill does not provide optimal protection. Only a pregnancy test will allow you to rule out or not the doubt of a possible pregnancy. It is therefore advisable to take a pregnancy test within three weeks of the date of unprotected or poorly protected intercourse..
What about advice ...
otherwise, even if you have taken the morning after pill (in case of forgotten pill), your usual contraception should not be interrupted. Take the forgotten tablet as soon as you remember and continue to take the tablets daily until the end of the pack. Remember to protect yourself with a condom until your next period. The morning after pill does not protect against sexually transmitted infections. In the event of a risky relationship, do a screening.
Side effects…
Taking the morning-after pill can cause side effects, among others, nausea, vomiting, headache, feelings of fatigue or dizziness, abdominal pain, breast tension. Some may have disrupted periods, delayed or advanced, and bleeding. Rest assured, these effects are rather rare and they do not last very long. To know : if you vomit within three hours of taking emergency contraception, it is necessary to take another tablet. Finally, some misconceptions remain about the morning after pill : using it too much would make it sterile ? Non, the use of emergency contraception has no impact on fertility. However, if you take it too often, it can have an impact on your menstrual cycle and delay your periods, delay or advance them.
Contraindications
Emergency contraception delivers only a progestogen and in theory has no contraindication. However, in case of risk or history of ectopic pregnancy, you will need to be more vigilant and watch for the onset of periods or symptoms (abnormal bleeding, douleurs abdominales…) Obviously, the morning after pill is ineffective in pregnant women. otherwise, for a long time, the morning after pill was thought to be less effective in overweight women (from 75-80 kg), or, the European Medicines Agency denied this information by 2014. “Les données disponibles sont trop limitées et pas assez solides pour conclure avec certitude que l’effet contraceptif est réduit avec une masse corporelle élevée, comme il est inscrit dans la notice du Norlevo”, they specify in a press release. Finally, EllaOne type pills, are contraindicated to (rares) people allergic to ulipristal acetate.
Patrice ADJAHO