Emergency Contraception

Emergency contraception, or emergency birth control, is used to keep a woman from getting pregnant when she has had unprotected vaginal intercourse. "Unprotected" can mean that no method of birth control was used. It can also mean that a birth control method was used but did not work - like a condom breaking. Other things can happen as well that put a woman at risk for getting pregnant. A woman may have forgotten to take her birth control pills. She may have been abused or forced to have sex when she did not want to. Emergency contraception should never be used as a regular method of birth control. There are effective methods of birth control that women can use on a regular basis to prevent pregnancy.

Emergency contraception keeps a woman from getting pregnant by stopping:

• ovulation, or stopping the ovaries from releasing eggs that can be fertilized;

• fertilization, or stopping the egg from being fertilized by the sperm;

• implantation, or stopping a fertilized egg from attaching itself to the wall of the uterus.

If you are already pregnant, emergency contraception will NOT work. If you have an ectopic pregnancy, where the pregnancy develops outside of the uterus, it will also not work. This can be a serious condition that can be fatal. Signs of ectopic pregnancy include extreme pain on one or both sides of the lower abdomen, spotting blood, and feeling dizzy or faint. If you think you have an ectopic pregnancy, go to an emergency room right away.