Can You Still Get Pregnant After Taking Plan B
The morning-after pill, sometimes referred to by brand name Plan B, is a levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive pill that prevents pregnancy after unprotected sex or if your contraception failed . It works by stopping an egg from being released from the ovary during ovulation, which prevents the egg from being fertilized if ovulation has already happened or prevents a fertilized egg from being implanted in the womb.
There are many brands of levonorgestrel EC pills that work in the same way. This type of EC works best when taken as soon as possible after unprotected sex, ideally within 12 hours.
When taken within 24 hours, levonorgestrel EC is 95 percent effective. If taken 4872 hours after unprotected sex, the Plan B effective rate is 61 percent. The effectiveness of Plan B decreases the longer you wait, so taking it sooner is better!
After taking Plan B, you may feel some side effects, including nausea, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, or vomiting. If you throw up within two hours of taking the pill, you should talk to a provider right away youll need to get a second dose or use another form of emergency contraception, like the copper IUD, in order to prevent pregnancy.
The other type of morning-after pill has ulipristal acetate as the main ingredient and can prevent pregnancy when taken up to five days later. But they always work much better when taken within the first three days.
You may also ask yourself, does it matter when in your cycle you take an EC pill?
How Does Plan B Work
It is possible to take the Plan B pill up to 3 days after unprotected sex, even though many people call it the morning-after pill. However, the sooner a person takes Plan B following unprotected intercourse, the more effective it is in preventing pregnancy.
The Plan B pill contains 1.5 milligrams of the hormone levonorgestrel. Levonorgestrel is a synthetic chemical that mimics the natural hormone progesterone. It triggers several responses in the body that prevent pregnancy.
Levonorgestrel ensures that the body is:
- Preventing ovulation, the process by which the ovary releases an egg. If there is no egg to fertilize, pregnancy is not possible.
- Thickening the mucus in the cervix, which helps prevent sperm from reaching the uterus and combining with an egg.
- Thinning the uterine lining, which reduces the likelihood of a fertilized egg attaching to the uterus.
There are many misconceptions regarding how the Plan B pill works. The pill is not an abortion pill as it does not destroy or damage a fetus. Instead, it prevents a pregnancy from occurring in the first place. Once an embryo has implanted in the uterus, Plan B will not disrupt it or cause an abortion.
Anyone who has had unprotected sex or failure of their birth control method can take the Plan B pill. This pill is available without a prescription and has no age restrictions.
Some people should avoid taking Plan B, including those who are:
Takeaways: Can Plan B Affect Your Period
The number one side effect of taking Plan B is irregular periods, which can come early or be delayed by a couple of days. Taking emergency contraception could also affect your next month’s period. But the effects usually resolve on their own, and no treatment is necessary. If you don’t get your period within a week of when you expect it to come, however, it’s probably a good idea to get a pregnancy test or get medical advice.
It’s important to know that accidents happen – a condom could break, you might forget to take your birth control pills for a few days, etc. It’s a great “last-chance” option that public health professionals say is not used often enough. Though you can get Plan B at most local drugstores and pharmacies, it may not be accessible for everyone. That’s why it’s good to be prepared: Online birth control delivery companies like ours, The Pill Club, can send Plan B with your package, so you have it when you need it.
Emergency contraception is a lifesaver to many. It’s a temporary fix, though. Make sure to continue to use your regular birth control method, like birth control pills or condoms, every time you have sex.
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What Is The Morning After Pill
The ‘morning after’ pill is a type of emergency contraception that can be used within a few days of unprotected sex. It is usually effective, but not always. It shouldnt be used as regular contraception.
The emergency contraception pill is taken soon after sex to reduce the risk of pregnancy.
The name is misleading the morning after pill can be taken up to 3 or up to 5 days after sex, depending on the type of pill.
It used to be called the morning after pill, but it can be taken up to 3 or up to 5 days after sex, depending on the type of pill. However, the sooner it is taken after unprotected sex, the more effective it is.
How Long Is Plan B Effective
Its best to take Plan B as soon as possible since it works best within the first three days. You can take it up to five days after unprotected sex, but it wont work as well by the fifth day. Once ingested, its only effective for a maximum of about five days. After this amount of time, the hormones that were in the pill will have left the body. The maximum amount of time that it stays in the body coincides with the amount of time that sperm can live inside the female reproductive tractabout five to six days.
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Whats The Short Answer
Getting your period after taking emergency contraception like Plan B is a sign that youre not pregnant. So its understandable that youll want to know exactly when to expect your period.
EC can affect the length of your menstrual cycle, meaning that your next period may come later or earlier than normal. Usually, it can be anything from a week earlier to a week later.
But everyone is different, and you may find that your period takes even longer to arrive.
The hormones found within Plan B can alter your next period in several ways. While some people may notice no change, others have reported everything from different durations to heavier bleeding.
Heres what to expect.
Making Emergency Birth Control Work For You
About half of all pregnancies in the USA are unintended . The popularity of long-acting reversible contraception methods like IUDs helps decrease this number .
Emergency contraception can stop an unintended pregnancy before it happens. An ECP is not a long-term solution for birth control â it isnât as effective as other forms of birth control. But knowing the options can help make emergency contraception as effective as possible for you. Understanding your cycle and acting quickly are the most important things you can do to make emergency contraception work for you.
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Can You Take Plan B While On Birth Control
Plan B is a progestin-only pill you should take within three days of unprotected sex , and you can buy it over the counter. It interferes with ovulation so theres no fertilization and, therefore, no pregnancy. The Plan B website states, Plan B does not impact the effectiveness of any regular birth control methods, so you can continue your regular birth control right away or start one, if you dont have a regular method. The same goes for other progestin-only morning-after pills.
Board-certified ob-gyn and fertility physician Natalie Crawford, MD, told POPSUGAR this applies to going back on progestin-only birth control as well as traditional combination birth control with both estrogen and progestin. She explained that when taking regular combination birth control as contraception, for example, the estrogen in those pills feeds back to the brain so you never send out any of the FSH hormone that allows you to ovulate. Taking a high dose of progestin with Plan B doesnt change that estrogen process of blocking the brain, she said.
Wendy Goodall McDonald, MD, who has worked in gynecology for 13 years, agreed. She, too, told POPSUGAR that taking either combination birth control or progestin-only birth control along with Plan B is fine. You can take both at the same time because it really is just like additional ovulation blocking, she said. Its not something that is working by a completely different mechanism.
Can You Get Pregnant On Your Period
Since they mark the break-down of your uterus lining and the expulsion of an egg from your body, many people think periods provide a safe window for unprotected sex.
Although its true you are at your least fertile, you can still get pregnant at any time during your period that means just before it starts, during, and just after it finishes.
Since ovulation can start prematurely and sperm can survive for several days inside the body, there is still a possibility of pregnancy if you have unprotected sex during your period.
You should therefore use some form of contraceptive protection. Since STIs and HIV are passed on much more easily when a woman is on her period the cervix is open wider than usual wearing a condom is really essential.
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Types Of Emergency Contraception Pills
There are 2 types of emergency contraceptive pills commonly sold in the U.S.:
Editor’s note: Technically, a doctor could have you take higher doses of regular combination birth control pills as emergency contraception, something called the Yuzpe regimen. But that’s not as effective as the other 2 types listed above, and it brings with it more side effects. Additionally, the copper IUD could be inserted within 5 days as a form of emergency contraception.
Scientists have found that both Plan B One-Step that you can get over-the-counter, or the prescription for ella, are safe to use to prevent pregnancy. Any side effects that you have after taking either of the emergency contraceptive pills should be mild and short-term.
After you take emergency contraceptive pills, the most common side effect is – you guessed it – changes to your menstrual periods.
Here is a list of some possible side effects after using a “morning-after” pill like Plan B:
- Irregular bleeding
- Fatigue
What To Expect After Using Plan B
Plan B has shown no long-term consequences or issues, and its safe for almost every woman to take, even if youve been taking another birth control pill. In the days and weeks after taking Plan B, you may experience mild to moderate side effects. For some women, the side effects may be more severe than for others. Some women experience no problems at all.
After the initial wave of side effects, you may experience changes in your period for a cycle or two. If these changes dont resolve, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss what other issues might be occurring.
Plan B is highly effective if taken properly. However, it is only effective as an emergency contraceptive. It shouldnt be used as routine birth control. It isnt as effective as other forms of birth control, including birth control pills, intrauterine devices , or even condoms.
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Will Taking Plan B Cause A Miscarriage
Rachel Gurevich is a fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. She is a professional member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and has been writing about womens health since 2001. Rachel uses her own experiences with infertility to write compassionate, practical, and supportive articles.
Plan B One-Step is a type of emergency contraception that’s sold over the counter to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. It’s also available under the brand names Fallback Solo, Next Choice One Dose, and Opcicon and may be referred to as the “morning-after pill.” A common misunderstanding about Plan B is that it causes a miscarriage.
However, Plan B doesn’t terminate an established pregnancy. It preventsconception from happening in the first place. By the time a pregnancy can be confirmed with a positive result on a home pregnancy test, an embryo will have already implanted in the walls of the uterus and taking Plan B will have no effect on it.
Plan B should be regarded as a backup form of birth control . But it is a safe and effective way to deal with a potential emergency if used correctly after inadvertently unprotected sex.
How Effective Is Plan B
Plan B is a very effective emergency contraception pill. It works well to prevent pregnancy within three days of an unprotected sex act, but is most effective when taken within 24 hours of the incident, says Madeline Sutton, OB-GYN, a medical epidemiologist and former Commissioned Corps Officer at the CDC. A morning-after pill like Plan B can prevent pregnancy 75% to 89% of the time if you take it within three days of unprotected sex.
Even though theres no limit to how many times you can take Plan B, taking more than one dose wont make it more effective. If you have unprotected sex again the day after taking Plan B, then you should take another dose. Take one pill for every act of unprotected sex, but remember that Plan B is not a substitute for regular birth control. Talk to your healthcare provider about the most appropriate form of birth control for you.
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Who Can Use The Emergency Pill
Most women can use the emergency contraceptive pill. This includes women who can’t use hormonal contraception, such as the combined pill and contraceptive patch. Girls under 16 years old can also use it.
But you may not be able to take the emergency contraceptive pill if you’re allergic to anything in it, have severe asthma or take any medicines that may interact with it, such as:
- the herbal medicine St John’s Wort
- some medicines used to treat epilepsy, HIV or tuberculosis
- medicine to make your stomach less acidic, such as omeprazole
- some less commonly used antibiotics
ellaOne can’t be used if you’re already taking one of these medicines, as it may not work. Levonelle may still be used, but the dose may need to be increased.
Tell a GP, nurse or pharmacist what medicines you’re taking, and they can advise you if they’re safe to take with the emergency contraceptive pill.
You can also read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine for more information.