Emergency Contraception - Protection Against Unwanted Pregnancy

The concept of contraception, just like technology, has evolved over time. Women have become more aware of the importance of contraception in order to prevent unplanned pregnancy. Until recently the only or rather the most commonly used form of contraception was condoms. However, the chances of pregnancy were still there owing to contraceptive accidents such as a condom slip or tear. When hormonal contraceptive methods were introduced, the number of unplanned pregnancies decreased to a significant extent. The hormonal contraceptive methods are oral contraceptive pills, contraceptive patch and contraceptive ring. Of these three methods, oral contraceptive pills have proven to be the most effective.

The contraceptive pills consist of synthetic female hormones with the help of which they prevent pregnancy. You are required to take the pills on a daily basis and at the same time. A contraceptive pill can be either combined pill or a mini-pill. These pills have been proven to be almost 100% effective in preventing unplanned pregnancy in women. However, at times you may get pregnant owing to contraceptive accidents such as failure of your daily contraception. In order to prevent pregnancy in such cases, you can take emergency contraception, also known as the morning after pills.

You can take emergency contraception approximately within 72 to 120 hours afterwards, depending on which pill you are taking. Morning after pills like mini-pills, consist, synthetic progestogen, as its active ingredient. The two most popular morning after pills used by women are Levonelle and ellaOne. These pills have been proven to be very effective in preventing women from getting pregnant. Levonelle is the oldest pill used by women in terms of emergencies.  This pill consists of levonorgestrel as its active ingredient, with the help of which they prevent pregnancy in women. You can take this pill 72 hours or three days afterwards.

This is one of the most effective emergency contraception and has been proven to be almost 95% effective in preventing pregnancy. The pill is best effective if taken within the first 24 hours or its effectiveness can decrease. It the pill is taken within 25 to 48 hours, it will be only 85% effective, while if taken within 49 to 72 hours, it will be only 58% effective in preventing unplanned pregnancy. You can buy this pill if you are 18 years of age or above. However, you should avoid taking this pill if you are already pregnant or are breastfeeding.

Another pill that is very effective in preventing pregnancy in women is ellaOne. This pill has been proven to be almost 98% effective in protecting women against pregnancy. This pill has been gaining popularity at a faster pace as this is the only pill which is effective for up to 120 hours or 5 days afterwards. This pill consists of ulipristal acetate as its active ingredient. ellaOne is best effective if taken within the first 24 hours afterwards. This pill can be taken by women who are 18 years of age or above, but should be avoided by those who are pregnant or are breastfeeding.