A Lucid Guide to Plan B Emergency Contraception

In a number of unanticipated scenarios, birth control simply falls short and one would require some in-the-purse back-up option for preventing conception.

Here is an elaboration about emergency contraceptive options namely Next Choice and Plan B.

Emergency Contraception

Emergency contraceptive pills or ECP are not designed for regular use birth control. ECP is used for preventing pregnancy followed unprotected sexual intercourse – when regular birth control methods have failed or no contraceptive method was employed. The Food and Drug Administration  (FDA) has given its consent to duo emergency contraceptive pill brands with progestin levonorgestrel present as the common constituent in them- Plan B One-Step and an under-production generic version known as Next Choice.

How could someone be able to procure these emergency contraception choices?

Since the FDA has put into practice certain age limits on emergency contraceptive pills, hence these are not obtainable to all sans a doctor’s prescription.

Here is the lowdown:

Who could be able to acquire ECPs?

These duo emergency contraception choices are obtainable as OTC (over-the-counter) to females who are seventeen years of age or more. Females below seventeen years of age require a doctor’s prescription in order to get it.

What is the manner of functioning of these emergency contraceptive pills?

Plan B One-Step as well as Next Choice brands have an elevated dosage of the analogous hormone in contraceptive pills. An ECP is an oral intake birth control choice that has to be used within 3 days or seventy-two hours subsequent to having engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse. The foremost version of Plan B brand involves the use of duo dosage regime; however the novel version being Plan B One-Step involves the intake of simply one pill- the earlier version is no more obtainable. Next Choice is similar to Plan B One-Step and is a generic version.

Researches have found ECP to be effectual up to nearly 120 hours following no-contraception sexual contact. ECP has the commonly employed progestin levonorgestrel and has no estrogen presence. The quicker a woman would use it, the more effective it would be. The drug manufacturers claim that about 7 from 8 females that would have conceived will not get pregnant subsequent to the intake of ECP, that comes out to be eighty-seven percent of females.

Both these brands are not abortion-eliciting pills like RU-486, hence would not be able to end pregnancy. In case a woman has already conceived prior to the use of ECP then it would be of no effect. However, the pills could aid in preventing implantation of fertilized egg on to the wall of the uterus.

Likely Associated side-effects:

• Feeling nauseous, puking, giddiness, exhaustion, headaches.
• A sooner subsequent menses or atypically postponed periods.
• Period bleeding being either more than or lesser than normal menstrual bleeding.
• Soreness in breasts.
• Pains felt in the abdomen.