Preventing pregnancy with morning-after pills
Preventing pregnancy with morning-after pills
You have many options to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Using a condom is by far the safest option people choose. But what if the condom tears apart? Then the next preventive step is to use an emergency contraceptive pill. Unprotected sex no longer gives a nightmarish feeling to women as emergency contraceptive pills or morning-after pills have now been proven to be safe in preventing pregnancy.
Knowing hormonal contraception
Morning-after pills are basically hormonal contraception. There are progestin-only pills and combined pills comprising oestrogen and progestin. The later category of pills contains synthetic versions of the hormones. Combined oral contraceptive pills prevent pregnancy by blocking the release of eggs from the ovary. To keep things even more safer, they also change cervical mucus and lining of the uterus.
Morning-after pills Do they work? If yes, how?
Dodging an unwanted pregnancy is a serious business and you need to be very sure that the contraceptive method you are using will give you the desired result. In case your primary line of defense fails for any reason (condom gets torn, for example), your second line of defense has to work. According to surveys, morning-after pills such as ellaOne and Levonelle have an impressive safety record. ellaOne has proven to be effective for 98% women who use it. Similarly, Levonelle works for 85% women.
ellaOne pills have ulipristal acetate as the active ingredient. It prevents pregnancy by changing the activity of a natural hormone called progesterone. Ulipristal acetate can prevent release of eggs from the ovaries if you take the pill within 120 hours from unprotected sex. But to minimise the chance of conceiving, you should take it as soon as possible after sex.
Levonelle works in the same manner as ellaOne, the only difference being it has a different active ingredient called levonorgestral.
Morning-after pill and menstrual cycles
Some women may experience certain irregularities in their menstrual cycles after they take morning-after pills. You should have a normal period, but in case it gets delayed or occurs sooner than normal, do not panic. But if the delay is longer than a week, go and get a pregnancy test done. Another common but less serious side effect is bleeding. Synthetic hormones in morning-after pills can cause the bleeding.
Common side effects
Morning-after pills are so popular not just because they help prevent pregnancy, but also because they do not cause any serious side effect. Even if there is any side effect, it usually goes away pretty soon. The most common side effects may include irregularities in menstrual cycles, tiredness or dizziness, headache, abdominal pain, tender breasts and nausea. Unexpected bleeding also occurs for some women. Usually the side effects go away after a couple of days. It is observed that progestin-only pills cause less side effects than combined oral contraceptive pills, but then again, the latter group of pills have far more impressive safety record than the former. But in case the side effects stay for longer and your next period gets delayed by more than a week, you should talk to your GP.
http://www.articlesbase.com/womens-health-articles/preventing-pregnancy-with-morning-after-pills-3546404.html
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