Table of Contents
Emergency Contraception
Emergency contraception is available to prevent pregnancy in situations such as:
- After sexual assault
- After consensual intercourse in which contraception is not used
- When contraception is used but fails (for instance, when a condom breaks or a diaphragm dislodges)
Emergency contraception is administered as a pill or, less commonly, as an IUD. Emergency contraception should not be used as a substitute for regular routine contraception.
Emergency Contraceptive Pills
The emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) is also called the “morning-after” pill. The emergency contraceptive pill is not the same thing as the "abortion pill." These pills should not be taken by a woman who is pregnant.
There are two types of “morning-after” pills:
- One type uses the progestin levonorgestrel to prevent either fertilization or the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterine lining.
- The other type uses the antiprogestin drug ulipristal, which appears to inhibit or delay ovulation.
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Review Date: 09/28/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M.,
Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
