Thursday, April 14, 2011

The effectiveness of Morning-after Pills in Emergency Contraception

The “Morning-after pill” is safe and effective way for birth control which prevents the pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse. This pill decreases the possibilities of being pregnant but on the other side it does not induce abortion. The morning-after pill possesses hormone levonorgestrel, progestin (Plan B One-Step, Next Choice) or progesterone agonist-antagonist, ulipristal acetate (Ella) is more efficient than the combined emergency contraceptive pill.

The effectiveness of Morning-after Pills in Emergency Contraception




The Morning-after Pill is one type of emergency contraceptive which is available over-the-counter for many years. These pills are more effectual in the prevention of pregnancy if they are taken in a proper way. Two major things which influence the effectiveness of Morning-after pill are below:
  • The time duration passed after the intercourse
These pills are most efficient if taken quickly after the unprotected sex.
  • The stage of the woman’s menstrual cycle at the time of intercourse
The pills affects less if the woman’s menstrual cycle is near to the ovulation at the time of sexual intercourse.

How does Morning-after pill works?

Pregnancy does not take place if there is no attachment of egg with sperm. The hormone present in the morning-after pill avoids the pregnancy by thickening woman's cervical mucus which in turn keeps the sperm and prevents its joining with egg. The pills also prevent the implantation of fertilized egg to the uterine wall.
The main ingredient in the FDA-approved morning-after pill, synthetic estrogen affects the pregnancy through delaying or preventing ovulation (if pills are taken before the ovulation).
It interrupts the development of necessary hormones for the pregnancy.

When should it be taken?

The morning-after pills should be good to take within the 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. Some suggest it to take up to 120 hours. But, as per the medical experts also morning-after pills are best efficient within 72 hours due to its reduced effectiveness after 3 days.

Effectiveness of Morning-after pills

The morning-after pills are also known by their brand names such as Plan B One-Step, Ella, and Next Choice. The morning-after pills are approved by the FDA. They also decrease the risk of pregnancy by around 75%.

The risk of pregnancy is lowered by 89% by the Plan B One-Step and Next Choice when they ingested within the 72 hours of unprotected sex. They can further decrease the risk of pregnancy up to 120 hours after the intercourse and as the time goes they become less effective.

The morning-pill was found much efficient in some 15 studies which conducted earlier by involving 8,400 women. The women who used morning-after pill right around the time of intercourse had showed 5% less risk of pregnancy in comparison to the 16% chances of pregnancy among the women who utilized condoms.
The chance of becoming pregnant during the fertile days is 30% higher. This 30% chances for pregnancy are reduced by less than 8% through morning-after pill.

Benefits of Morning-after pills
  • It offers second opportunity if you had unprotected sex.
  • It is easily accessible at health centers and drugstores at a price from $10 to $70.
  • There is no more risk of the birth defect if woman taking this pill is already pregnant or it will also not affect the fetus if pill may fail to prevent pregnancy.
  • The morning-after pill is proven 95% efficient if ingested within 24 hours of unprotected sex, 85% effective if taken during 25 - 48 hours and 58% effectual if received between 49 - 72 hours.
  • It is safe for the women including all age groups. It is beneficial in pregnancy prevention among the women of 14 years and above.
Some facts related to the Morning-after pills
The recent report revealed that the teens depend more on the morning-after pill. 1 in 8 girls of the age 16 takes morning after pill. It showed that the 12% of girls of the age 16 and 17 used the contraception at least one time after having intercourse. 1 in 50 teen girls utilized the pill twice and 1 in 100 girls take it frequently.
In a survey, it was found that the nine out of ten 16-year-old girls were 'fully informed' regarding the use of emergency contraception as well as how to seize it.

The study including the girls of 18 to 19 years of age showed that the more than 1 in 6 teens had taken pill once and 1 in 25 had used it twice.

In the conference hosted by International Consortium for Emergency Contraception (ICEC) in association with World Health Organization (WHO), over 1,000 experts were brought together to converse about the issues like international challenges concerning EC access and its regular usage. They emphasize on the use of oral contraceptive pill as a most effective form of contraception. They said that this pill is 100% effective if taken appropriately.

The Wales in the UK shows highest teenage pregnancy rates and that is why a community pharmacist at Wales has started to offer the morning-after pill at free cost even to the girls under the age of 16. The minister is expecting that this act will lower the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Europe.

Some side effects associated with the Morning-after pills
  • Bleeding between periods or heavier menstrual bleeding
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Headaches
  • Lower abdominal pain or cramps
  • Dizziness
  • Breast tenderness
  • Diarrhea
The morning-after pill sometimes needs to avoid if:

1. Allergy takes place due to any of the constituent of morning-after pill.
2. Unexpected vaginal bleeding occurs.
3. You are taking some other medications like barbiturates or St. John's wort which lowers the effectiveness of the morning-after pill.
4. If you are suffering from diabetes then you should consult your health care provider to control your blood sugar level after having morning-after pill.
5. Women who are more than 35 years old and smoke or who possess the family background of blood-clotting conditions should utilize the morning-after pill carefully as they may experience a vascular disease, deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Doctors said that the DVT has rising a lot together with the increased sales of over-the-counter contraceptive pills.
6. These side effects are not more likely to happen but they should be considered while taking morning-after pill.

Video of Morning-after pill from YouTube:

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