When to Use Emergency Contraception

Who uses emergency contraception?

Almost any woman can safely
use emergency contraceptive
pills, which give her a second chance to prevent
pregnancy after sex. This option is especially important given
that there is a high fraction of women who get pregnant each year
when they are not trying to have a baby (what researchers like to
call the “unintended
pregnancy” rate). Unfortunately, very few women use emergency
contraception when their contraception fails, they have sex without
using regular contraception, or they are forced
to have sex.

That’s because women in the United States may have heard of
“morning after
pills,” the common nickname for emergency
contraceptive pills, but most know very little about how and when
to use them. Many health care providers do not talk to women about
emergency contraception
during check ups or appointments to get regular
contraception, and the companies that make the pills that can
be used for emergency contraception
have only recently started to actively promote them to the public.
This website is designed to help women
fill in the gaps.