1.
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Do I need a prescription to get emergency contraception?
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- If you are 18 or older, you can get EC at most drug stores without a prescription. If you are under 18, talk to your health care provider or click here to find a specially trained pharmacist who can sell you EC.
- EC is also available with a prescription from your doctor or health care provider. Call your health care provider if you need EC or click here for a list of Family Planning Clinics in Massachusetts.
- Your health care provider or Family Planning Clinic can provide you with a pre-prescription for EC to keep on hand. Then you'll be ready in case you need EC pills in an emergency. Ask your doctor about EC.
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2.
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How much do emergency contraceptive pills cost?
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The cost of emergency contraception (EC) will depend on where you get it. Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics often use a sliding scale based on what you can afford to pay.
If you are buying EC over-the-counter, the average cost for the pills is $40-$50.
If you are buying EC with a prescription from a health care provider, your insurance may cover some or all of the cost. MassHealth will pay for EC if you have a prescription for it.
You can get a prescription from your health care provider ahead of time. Keep EC at home so you can take it as soon as possible if you need it later.
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3.
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Can I get emergency contraception without my parents’ knowledge or consent if I am under 18 years old?
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Yes. In Massachusetts, you can get birth control, including emergency contraception (EC), without your parents’ permission. There is no law requiring a physician or clinic to get parental consent before prescribing EC, so if a clinic or physician requires your parents’ consent, you may want to contact another provider such as a state-funded family planning site. Click here for a list of family planning sites.
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4.
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How do I use Plan B ?
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Plan B has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as emergency contraception (EC). Currently, Plan B is the only product that is marketed specifically for use as EC.
A Plan B packet contains two pills. Swallow both pills as soon as possible. The label for Plan B says to take the first pill as soon as possible after unprotected sex and the second pill 12 hours later. Recent research has found that you can take both Plan B pills at the same time. Both ways of taking Plan B are equally effective.
It does not matter if you take the two pills at the same time or separately – in either case, EC is more effective the sooner it is taken after unprotected sex.
Do not swallow any extra emergency contraceptive pills. More pills will probably not decrease the risk of pregnancy any more, but they will increase the risk of nausea.
You may want to take an anti-nausea medicine such as Dramamine when you take EC, but most people will not need to do this. If you vomit within one hour after taking a dose, call your doctor or health care provider. You may need to repeat a dose.
Your next period may start a few days earlier or later than usual. If your period doesn't start within three weeks, see your health care provider for an exam and pregnancy test. If you think that you may be pregnant, see your clinician at once, whether or not you plan to continue the pregnancy. Emergency contraception may not prevent an ectopic pregnancy (in the tubes or abdomen). Ectopic pregnancy is a medical emergency.
Get started as soon as you possibly can with a method of birth control you will be able to use consistently and correctly. EC is meant for emergency protection, not as a regular method of birth control. EC is not as effective as some other forms of birth control (like the birth control pill and the Depo Provera shot). Protect yourself from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections as well as pregnancy by using condoms every time you have sex.
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5.
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How do emergency contraceptive pills work?
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Depending on the time during the menstrual cycle that they are taken, emergency contraceptive pills keep the egg from leaving the ovary, keep the sperm from meeting the egg, or keep the fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.
EC pills will not work once the fertilized egg has attached to the uterus. EC will not hurt you or your pregnancy if you took them and didn't know you were already pregnant.
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6.
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How effective is emergency contraception?
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When used perfectly, emergency contraception (EC) is effective at preventing pregnancy, but it is not as effective as some other methods of contraception, such as the birth control pill. It also does not protect you against HIV/AIDS and other STDs, like condoms do.
On average, if 100 women have unprotected intercourse once during the second or third week of their cycle, 8 will become pregnant. Following treatment with combined EC (such as high doses of certain birth control pills), 2 will become pregnant (a 75% reduction in the risk of pregnancy); following treatment with progestin-only EC (Plan B), 1 will become pregnant (an 89% reduction in the risk of pregnancy). An IUD can be inserted as emergency contraception, and it reduces the risk of pregnancy by more than 99%.
If a woman uses Plan B perfectly after every act of unprotected sex, and uses no other method of birth control for a year, then her annual risk of pregnancy would be about 19%.
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7.
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What are the side effects of emergency contraceptive pills?
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Almost all women can safely use emergency contraception (EC). The only absolute contraindication to use of EC is confirmed pregnancy, simply because EC will not work if a woman is pregnant. If a woman takes EC and is already pregnant, her fetus will not be harmed.
There are no long-term or serious side effects from using EC. About half of women who take combined EC (such as high doses of certain birth control pills) feel sick to their stomach and some vomit. Feeling sick to your stomach and vomiting are much less common with progestin-only EC (Plan B). If vomiting occurs within 1 hour after taking a dose, some clinicians recommend repeating that dose. You may want to take an anti-nausea medicine like meclizine (Dramamine), which is available over-the-counter, if you tend to get sick to your stomach easily.
Other side effects of EC include fatigue, headache, dizziness, and breast tenderness. These usually go away in 24 hours.
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8.
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What if I bleed after taking emergency contraception?
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Some women do have unusual bleeding after using emergency contraception because of the hormones in the pills. The bleeding is not dangerous, and it will probably go away by itself after you get your next period.
However, it's also possible (but rare) that unusual bleeding could be due to a more serious cause. If you have other symptoms like abdominal pain or dizziness, or if the problem lasts longer than a few days or gets worse, or if you're just worried, you should call your doctor.
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9.
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When should my next period come after I take emergency contraceptive pills?
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Your next period should come more or less on time, although it may be a few days early or a few days late. After taking emergency contraception, some women have their period early, and some women have irregular bleeding that is not really their period. The duration of the irregular bleeding is not predictable. You should have another, normal period within the next month. If you don’t, you should take a pregnancy test just to make sure you're not pregnant.
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10.
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How long after unprotected sex can emergency contraceptive pills be taken?
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The instructions for Plan B recommend taking the first dose within 72 hours (3 days) of unprotected sex (followed by a second dose 12 hours later). Recent studies have found that the pills are still effective when the first dose is taken up to 120 hours (5 days) after unprotected sex (followed by a second dose 12 hours later). However, the sooner you take EC, the better.
If you are using the combined method (high doses of regular birth control pills) and taking the second dose exactly 12 hours after the first dose is difficult (for instance, if it would mean waking up in the middle of the night), you can alter the timing of the second dose slightly (+/- 2 hours).
When taking progestin-only emergency contraception (like Plan B) you can take both pills together at the same time. A recent study shows that this works just as well as taking them 12 hours apart. Ask your health care provider for more information.
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11.
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What if I have sex after taking emergency contraceptive pills?
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Emergency contraception will not protect you against pregnancy from sex that occurs after the pills are taken.
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12.
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Is there a limit to the number of times emergency contraceptive pills can be used?
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There are no safety concerns with using emergency contraception (EC) repeatedly. However, EC does not work as well as an ongoing method of contraception (like birth control pills, Depo Provera, or using condoms every time you have sex). If you need to use EC repeatedly, you need to find an ongoing method of contraception that you can use correctly and consistently. You can ask a health care provider about your options.
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13.
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Can regular birth control pills be used for emergency contraception?
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Only progestin-only pills containing levonorgestrel or combined pills containing both the progestin levonorgestrel and the estrogen ethinyl estradiol have been approved for use as emergency contraception. Studies have shown that combined pills containing the progestin norethindrone are also effective as emergency contraception, but they are not approved for this use by the FDA and there is no standard regimen for using them as EC. Therefore, we have not included instructions here on how to use them.
See "What birth control pills can be used for emergency contraception?" for instructions on how to use regular birth control pills as EC.
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14.
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What birth control pills can be used for emergency contraception?
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Twenty brands of birth control pills can be used for emergency contraception: Ovral, Ogestrel, Cryselle, Levora, Lo/Ovral, Low-Ogestrel, Levlen, Nordette, Portia, Seasonale, Trivora, Tri-Levlen, Triphasil, Enpresse, Alesse, Lessina, Levlite, Lutera, Aviane, and Ovrette. The FDA has explicitly said that these brands of birth control pills are safe and effective for use as emergency contraceptives.
The number of pills you take depends on the type or brand of pill, so you need to follow these directions carefully.
Instructions for use:
Brand (Company) = first dose should be taken as soon as possible, followed by the second dose 12 hours later
Ovral (Wyeth-Ayerst) = 2 white pills + 2 white pills 12 hrs later
Ogestrel (Watson) = 2 white pills + 2 white pills 12 hrs later
Cryselle (Barr) = 4 white pills + 4 white pills 12 hrs later
Levora (Watson) = 4 white pills + 4 white pills 12 hrs later
Lo/Ovral (Wyeth-Ayerst) = 4 white pills + 4 white pills 12 hrs later
Low-Ogestrel (Watson) = 4 white pills + 4 white pills 12 hrs later
Levlen (Berlex)= 4 light-orange pills + 4 light-orange pills 12 hrs later
Nordette (Wyeth-Ayerst) = 4 light-orange pills + 4 light-orange pills 12 hrs later
Portia (Barr) = 4 pink pills + 4 pink pills 12 hrs later
Seasonale (Barr) = 4 pink pills + 4 pink pills 12 hrs later
Trivora (Watson) = 4 pink pills + 4 pink pills 12 hrs later
Tri-Levlen (Berlex) = 4 yellow pills + 4 yellow pills 12 hrs later
Triphasil (Wyeth-Ayerst) = 4 yellow pills + 4 yellow pills 12 hrs later
Enpresse (Barr) = 4 orange pills + 4 orange pills 12 hrs later
Alesse (Wyeth-Ayerst) = 5 pink pills + 5 pink pills 12 hrs later
Lessina (Barr) = 5 pink pills + 5 pink pills 12 hrs later
Levlite (Berlex) = 5 pink pills + 5 pink pills 12 hrs later
Lutera (Watson) = 5 white pills + 5 white pills 12 hrs later
Aviane (Barr) = 5 orange pills + 5 orange pills 12 hrs later
Ovrette (Wyeth-Ayerst) = 20 yellow pills + 20 yellow pills 12 hrs later
Emergency contraception is more effective the sooner it is taken after unprotected sex.
Take the second dose 12 hours after the first dose. Taking the second dose a little early or late (+/- two hours, for example) will probably not make a difference in how effective the pills are, although you should try to take it on time.
Do not swallow any extra emergency contraceptive pills. More pills will probably not decrease the risk of pregnancy any further but it will increase the risk of nausea and vomiting.
You may feel sick to your stomach, although it is usually mild and should stop in a day or so. If you vomit within one hour after taking a dose, call your clinician, because you may need to repeat a dose. If you get nauseous easily, you may want to take anti-nausea medicine when you take your EC.
EC is meant for one-time, emergency protection, not as a regular method of birth control. EC is not as effective as other forms of birth control. Protect yourself from AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections as well as pregnancy by using condoms every time you have sex.
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15.
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Should women obtain emergency contraceptives before they are needed?
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Since emergency contraception (EC) is more effective the sooner you take it after unprotected sex, you may want to ask your health care provider for a prescription for EC before you actually need them. That way, you can keep the pills at home and you do not need to worry about getting to your health care provider or pharmacy in a hurry. More and more clinicians are giving women a packet of pills or advance prescriptions for EC, but if your health care provider does not offer one to you, you may want to ask him or her for it.
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16.
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Does use of emergency contraception cause an abortion?
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No, use of emergency contraception does not cause an abortion. In fact, emergency contraception prevents pregnancy and thereby reduces the need for abortion. Medical authorities such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists define the beginning of pregnancy as the implantation of a fertilized egg in the lining of a woman's uterus. Implantation begins five to seven days after fertilization (and is completed several days later). Emergency contraceptives work before implantation and not after a woman is already pregnant. If a woman is already pregnant and takes emergency contraception, the medicine will not work and it will not harm the fetus.
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17.
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What will the new emergency contraception law do?
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The new emergency contraception (EC) law, which went into effect on December 14, 2005, requires hospital emergency rooms to offer EC to rape survivors. It also allows women to get EC directly from trained pharmacists without getting a doctor’s prescription first. A list of participating pharmacies will be posted on this website once they begin to offer EC services.
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18.
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Can I get emergency contraception directly from a pharmacy?
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As part of the new emergency contraception (EC) law in Massachusetts, some pharmacists will be able to dispense EC directly through an agreement with a physician. Women will be able to get EC from trained pharmacists without needing a doctor's prescription first. If you need EC now, contact your health care provider or click here for more info.
Not all pharmacies will participate in the EC program. Once the program begins, a list of participating pharmacies will be posted on this website.
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19.
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What pharmacies are participating in the emergency contraception pharmacy access program?
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Not all pharmacies will participate in the emergency contraception (EC) program. Only pharmacists who have been trained and have signed an agreement with a physician will be able to offer EC without a prescription. Once the EC program begins in Massachusetts, a list of participating pharmacies will be posted on this website.
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