Making informed decisions about taking the morning after pill

For #SHW23, we’re Playing It Safe. In this guest blog, ellaOne®’s senior brand manager, Emma Marsh, highlights how education and access to emergency contraception can play a crucial role in helping prevent unplanned pregnancy.   

Condom split? Missed pill? Caught in the moment?

Whatever the reason, if you’ve had unprotected sex you could be at risk of pregnancy. But there is no need to panic and you certainly should not feel alone.  

In research conducted by ellaOne®, 46% of women between the ages of 18-35 had unprotected sex in the last year, yet only 27% of those women took the morning after pill. There are many reasons for three quarters (73%) of women skipping emergency contraception and risking unplanned pregnancy, including: embarrassment, misinformation and accessibility.

To reduce the risk of an unplanned pregnancy, it is wise to seek emergency contraception as soon as possible. You can either choose to take a morning after pill, such as ellaOne®, or have a copper IUD fitted. The copper IUD, sometimes called the coil, is the most effective form of emergency contraception when inserted within five days of unprotected sex.  

Any emergency contraceptive is more effective the sooner you use it, but when it comes to the morning after pill, it’s incredibly hard to separate the facts from the fiction.  

In further research from ellaOne®, that canvassed the views of over 1,000 British 18-35 year olds, the data revealed that 59% of people do not understand how emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) works by delaying ovulation (egg release), and over 40% thought the morning after pill causes an abortion, which is incorrect. This highlights how and why so many young people struggle to get the right education and information when it comes to accessing emergency contraception when they need it most.  

Where can you access the morning after pill?  

The morning after pill can be accessed free of charge from a GP, or from your sexual health clinic. You can find your nearest sexual health clinic on the Brook website or you can also purchase the morning after pill over the counter in pharmacies. ellaOne® is one type of morning after pill available to buy from most pharmacies and can prevent pregnancy even right before ovulation (which is when risk of pregnancy is highest). ellaOne® can also be purchased online from ellaOne® Direct, for next-day home delivery.  

ellaOne® contains ulipristal acetate and can be effective for up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex has taken place, but is most effective when taken as soon as possible. Other morning after pills are effective within 72 hours after the event but are also most effective when taken as soon as possible. The morning after pill is intended for use in the case of emergency and it is not meant to be a replacement for a regular method of contraception. If you often find yourself relying on emergency contraception, you may want to consider another contraceptive method. You can use this tool from Brook to help you understand what kinds of contraception may be best for you. Some daily contraceptives such as Hana®, a progestogen-only pill, are available to purchase in pharmacies or online without a prescription. 

How does the morning after pill work?  

ellaOne® works by delaying ovulation so that any sperm in the reproductive system cannot find an egg to fertilise to help prevent pregnancy. When you have unprotected sex, sperm travel from the vagina, through the cervix and up the fallopian tubes where they wait for an egg. ellaOne® helps prevent or delay ovulation until all the sperm have died (five days), so there is no egg for them to fertilise and no pregnancy can take place. 
 

If ovulation has already taken place, no morning after pill will be effective.

It is very hard to know when you are ovulating as your cycle can change from month to month and can be impacted by diet, stress and travel. By taking ellaOne® as soon as possible after unprotected sex, you reduce the risk of ovulating during that time. 
 

The morning after pill only works by preventing ovulation, it cannot cause an abortion and it will not have any effect in a case where an egg has already been fertilised.