Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About...
Safety
Is emergency contraception safe?
Yes, almost all women can use at least one type
of emergency contraception.
No deaths have been linked to using emergency
contraceptive pills, and medical experts agree there are no situations
where the risks outweigh the benefits of being able to prevent
pregnancy after
sex.
You can safely use emergency
contraceptive pills (the "morning
after pill" or "day after pills") even if your
health care provider recommends against using the birth control pill
(usually that’s because you are at risk of stroke, heart disease,
blood clots, or other cardiovascular problems). Medical experts agree
that using estrogen and progestin - the hormones found in these
pills - on an emergency
basis does not carry the same risks as taking oral contraceptives
every day. And if your health care provider has said you should absolutely
avoid estrogen, you can probably still use one of the three other types
of emergency contraception: progestin-only pills (like Plan B One-Step, Next Choice One Dose or My Way), ulipristal acetate (ella) or the Copper-T IUD.
Emergency contraceptive
pills ("morning
after pills") have no long term or serious side effects,
although you might experience some minor
side effects.
The only time all emergency
contraception is “contraindicated” - meaning
you should not use it - is when you know you are pregnant. Emergency
contraceptive pills won’t work then, and using an IUD
as emergency contraception could increase your risk of infection
during pregnancy. In addition, the label for ella states that breastfeeding women should not use ella, as the effects are unknown.
For a more detailed academic review of the medical and social science
literature about emergency contraception, including its safety record,
click
here .