Morning After Pills

Morning after pills work by the maxim “Accidents do happen”. Accidents happen during sex if you don't take the proper precautions, or for some reason your 'precaution does not work for you. For women, such accidents can lead to pregnancy. Morning after pills are emergency contraceptives, and can be taken even a few days after you have had unprotected sex.

What are morning after pills?

These pills have been developed specifically as an emergency contraception. These need to be taken if you want to prevent pregnancy or have had unprotected sex or if your contraception has proven ineffective or failed in some way or the other. There are numerous morning after pills available on the market and you need to make a choice dependent on your needs and requirements, the safety profile of the drug and its efficiency. Morning after pills offer you the benefit of a large time frame within which you can take this medication.

How do morning after pills work?

Typically, these pills work by interfering with the functioning of your ovaries and affecting the hormones in your ovaries. The action mechanism of morning after pills is determined by your menstrual cycle. These pills can either prevent ovulation, block fertilization, or prevent a fertilized egg from being implanted in your uterus. A pill like Levonelle, interferes with your process of ovulation, meaning it acts at a very initial stage of an egg's development. Another morning after pill known as ellaOne acts on the hormone receptors to help prevent the release of the egg. You must note that these pills are not effective if you are already pregnant.

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Are they really effective?

Morning after pills have proven to be very effective, but their effectiveness depends on the choice that you make. If you make the right choice, the chances of success increase manifold; on the other hand if you make the wrong choice, chances of failure rise. The above mentioned pills have a very rate of success, with Levonelle proving to be 95% effective if taken within 24 hours, but its efficiency decreases if you keep delaying its intake. ellaOne on the other hand offers you an efficiency of 98%. So, morning after pills are definitely effective provided you make an informed decision when you pick any of these pills for use.

Frequency of usage

If you want to avoid pregnancy, its always a good idea to use/take birth control before having sex. But, in case you have had unprotected sex, morning after pills help save the day. So, you need to use these pills if have missed your birth control pill or you think your method of birth control hasn't been successful. These pills are only for emergency purposes and should not be used like birth control pills. Generally medical experts suggest the use of one morning after pills per menstrual cycle. This helps you ensure that you don't suffer from any adverse effects of any morning after pills that you might be using.

Safety concerns

Morning after pills aren't mean for everybody. Ask your doctor whether these pills are good for you and which are the pills that are best suited for your body. Avoid taking this pill if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. If you are suffering from conditions such as vaginal bleedings, and have no explanation for it, its advisable to not use such pills. There are certain medications that interfere with the working of morning after pills, if you are taking such medications don't use such pills as they reduce the efficiency of these pills.

Also watch out for the side effects of morning after pills which include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, excessive menstrual bleeding and breast tenderness. For many, these side effects go away after some time, but if they become bothersome always consult your doctor.