November 30th, 2016
Morning – after pill or an emergency contraceptive are the pills to be taken right after an unprotected sexual intercourse to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. They are available as prescription as well as over the counter drugs. If taken properly, these pharmacological preparations can protect the woman from conceiving for straight five days!
Are you aware that:
There are different brands to choose form such as Next Choice, Ella and Plan B One-Step. These emergency contraceptive pills can be used in following situations:
These emergency contraceptives work by terminating ovulation and inhibiting the sperm motility. The biochemical alterations produced by emergency contraceptives can alter the uterus lining to prevent the attachment of a fertilized egg to the placenta.
Next Choice and Plan B One-Step are progestin- morning after pills. These pharmacological preparations contain synthetic form of hormone progesterone, called levonorgestrel. This synthetic hormone is being used for more than 35 years by women for contraception. These pills induce extreme hormonal explosion that distorts the chances of a possible pregnancy. These preparations are supposed to be taken as soon as possible with food. Next Choice should be taken twice with interval of 12 hours while plan B one-step is supposed to be taken only once.
The active ingredient in Ella is Ulipristal Acetate (UPA) that prevents or slows down the ovulation by disrupting the normal functioning of progesterone. Ella is found to be more effective than the other two brands, says a few researchers. But, it is available only as prescription drug. The effect of using this pill twice is not known yet. Therefore, it is recommended to use only one pill throughout the menstrual cycle. Women are persuaded to use non-hormonal birth control methods such as condoms after having this pill because they can reduce the affectivity of birth control pills.
If emergency contraceptives are taken after successful attachment of fertilized egg, the pregnancy won’t get terminated. These contraceptives do not cause miscarriages.