Unwanted Pregnancy
Emergency contraception can lessen your risk of unwanted pregnancy. Emergency contraception should at the latest be used three days after the intercourse. It is for ‘emergencies’ and should only be used few times. Tightness across the chest, nausea and vomiting are the most frequent side effects after using emergency contraception.
If you after an intercourse suspect that you may have become pregnant and do not want to have a child, you can use emergence contraception.
You can become pregnant if you have had intercourse without protection yourselves. You may for example have forgotten to use a condom or a diaphragm, the condom might have torn or slipped off or you have forgotten to take your contraceptive pill.
The emergency contraception should at the latest be used three days after the intercourse. The pill can be bought over the counter at the pharmacy.
The method of emergency contraception consists of two tablets that contain the female hormone progestin. You should take both tablets at the same time as fast as possible. Your menstruation will be of normal strength and will arrive regularly.
The method of emergency contraception affects the mucous membrane in the uterus so that the egg cannot attach – thereby you risk of become pregnant are significantly reduced but the method is far from 100% safe. You should therefore take a pregnancy test if your menstruation is more than five days late or if your bleeding is not normal. In any case, it may be a good idea to take a pregnancy test three weeks after you have used emergency contraception.
Emergency contraception is for ‘emergencies’ and should only be used in cases where you have forgotten other remedies or where a different method has failed. You should not use the morning-after pill more than once between two menstruations and should not let this option replace regular use of another contraception.
You can get side effects from using the emergency contraception method. If you throw up less than three hours after you have taken the tablets the method is not safe. You should then see if there are tablets in the vomit and if you can see tablets in the vomit you should immediately take two new ones.
Unprotected intercourse is a good occasion to consider a future method of contraception.