Contraception

Emergency Contraception After Sex

You get caught up in the heat of the moment, and have sex without contraception. Or maybe the condom breaks. Regardless how it happens, unprotected sex opens the door to the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy.

But you're not completely out of options. They're called emergency contraception (EC) pills, and u nlike other forms of contraception, EC can be used AFTER intercourse to prevent pregnancy. After unprotected sex, you have a window of about 3-5 days to use EC, although the sooner you use it, the better it works.

You have two EC methods to choose from:

• a special formulation called Plan B
• or a series of four contraceptive pills called the Yuzpe method

Both methods come with clear and simple instructions, and up to 99 per cent of women who use them are able to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Of course, many of these women would not have been pregnant in the first place.

Emergency contraceptives work by altering the mucus in a woman's cervix so that it becomes "hostile" to sperm. It also thins out the lining of her uterus, making it very difficult for a fertilized egg to implant. In the unlikely event that implantation does occur, EC does not interrupt the pregnancy or put the fetus at risk.

Here are some situations in which EC may be appropriate:

• You had intercourse unexpectedly without contraception
• You were forced to have sex or awoke to realize you were having sex
• Your partner didn't "pull out" in time
• You had a contraceptive accident, such as a broken condom or slipped diaphragm
• You forgot to take your birth-control pills for two or more days before having sex

EC is very safe, but it can cause side-effects such as nausea or vomiting. (These effects are much less common with Plan B than with the Yuzpe method.) If you vomit within an hour of taking EC, you'll need to retake the dose.

How to get it

You can get EC (or a prescription for EC) from your doctor, a health centre, a walk-in clinic, a birth control/sexual health clinic or directly from your pharmacist. To be on the safe side, you might want to obtain the product in advance and store it for use in case of an emergency. But you shouldn't rely on EC as your primary method of birth control. It's less effective than regular contraceptive methods and offers no protection against sexually transmitted infections.

• Call the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health’s bilingual hotline (formerly Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada), 1-888-270-7444, for guidance about getting ECs in your area.
• Or use our clinic locator.

When mistakes happen, EC is your last chance to take control of your reproductive destiny, so make sure you know how to get it - just in case.

Last Modified: September 22, 2008