Morning After Pills

Morning After Pills

Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association (JAMWA)
Vol 53, Number 5
A Special Issue on Emergency Contraception
Available free at http://www.jamwa.org/vol53/toc53_5.html

Our nation’s nasty public debate over abortion has prevented many girls and women who have had unprotected sex, including victims of rape, from gaining the information they need to prevent an unwanted pregnancy after unprotected sex.

"Emergency contraceptives" or "morning after pills" are medical products that prevent pregnancy after intercourse has taken place. They are different from abortions, because they prevent pregnancy either by delaying the woman’s ovulation or by preventing the fertilized egg from being implanted in the uterus. A supplemental issue of the Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association consists of 17 articles about this procedure, including safety, side effects, and awareness among physicians, pharmacists, and adolescents.

Although emergency contraception has been available for several decades, many girls and women never knew it existed, and it is only recently that products have been sold specifically for that purpose. The two most widely accepted emergency contraceptives are birth control pills or inserting an IUD after sex.

The most common is the use of a higher than usual dose of birth control pills within three days after unprotected intercourse. Birth control pills have been used as emergency contraceptives since the mid-1960’s, but this "off label" use was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) until 1997. Instead of using part of a monthly pack of birth control pills, the pills are now sold under the name Preven in a special emergency contraceptive pack of 4 pills. It is not possible to determine exactly how effective these pills are (since they prevent something that hasn’t happened yet), but approximately 8 of 100 women will become pregnant following one act of unprotected intercourse in the second or third week in a menstrual cycle, and about 75% of those pregnancies will be prevented when birth control pills are used as emergency contraceptives.

According to the most recent studies, almost half the girls or women who use birth control pills for this purpose report nausea, and one in four report vomiting. Other pills are being tested for use, and are believed to be safe with fewer side effects. However, there is not enough research to conclude whether or not they are safe.

A phone survey of adults between 18 and 44 in 1994 found 61 percent of women and 45 percent of men had heard of emergency contraception. The responses were slightly higher in a phone interview in 1997.

Information about emergency contraception is easy to get: there is an Emergency Contraception Hotline (1-888-NOT-2-LATE).