What Medicines Affect How Well Plan B Works
These medicines or supplements can make Plan B and other levonorgestrel morning-after pills not work as well:
The antibiotic Rifampin
The antifungal Griseofulvin
Certain HIV medicines
Certain anti-seizure medicines
The herb St. Johns Wort
You can ask a nurse, doctor, or pharmacist about any medications youre taking, and they can help you figure out if Plan B is a good option for you.
How Chemical Abortion Pills Work
Chemical abortion pills, on the other hand, are intended to end a pregnancy that has already begun. The abortion pill regimen involves two different medications taken sequentially. The first medicine, mifepristone , blocks the effects of the pregnancy hormone progesterone.
Normally, progesterone surges during the first trimester, causing the uterine lining to thicken in preparation for successful implantation of the developing embryo. Progesterone also prevents the uterus from contracting.
After mifepristone has presumably ended the pregnancy, the woman takes the second medication, misoprostol to cause preterm contractions to expel the dead embryo and all pregnancy-related tissue. While mifepristone is always taken orally as a pill, misoprostol may also be self-inserted vaginally, as a suppository.
How Effective Is The Morning After Pill
Emergency contraception cant prevent all pregnancies.
If you take the LNG-ECP pill within 3 days of having sex, it will probably be effective. Out of every 100 expected pregnancies, between 80 or 90 will be avoided with this pill. The sooner you take it, the better the chance of it working.
If you take the UPA pill within 5 days of having sex, it is very likely to be effective. Out of every 100 expected pregnancies, 98 will be avoided with this pill. Again, the sooner you take it, the better the chance of it working.
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Psa: That Is Not A Plan B Pill Inside Your Pregnancy Test
Finding the over-the-counter pregnancy test thats right for you can be a daunting chore. After all, the shelves are filled with a crazy number of options, all boasting a variety of high-tech features that promise to deliver advanced accuracy and speed. After dropping $20+ on a kit, you might feel like youve basically purchased the pregnancy test equivalent of an iPhone.
But just as pregnancy tests dont come with USB cables, they dont include anything else above and beyond a standard kit to test your urineand definitely not a morning-after pill.
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Still, kids on the popular video-sharing app TikTok, among other social media sites, have been taking apart pregnancy tests and asking if the moisture-absorbing desiccant tablet is, in fact, Plan B One Step, or the morning-after pill.
As eyebrow-raising as it might sound, various pockets of the internet and social media have been buzzing with the thought that some pregnancy test kits include the morning-after pill. One example: In the Q& A section of the site WeHaveKids.com, a user asked, Theres a rumor that the tablet in the test is a Plan B. What is the little pill thing inside a pregnancy test, really?
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What Is The Abortion Pill
About half of people who get legal abortions in the United States use a method called medication abortion, or the abortion pill. Unlike with emergency contraceptives, which prevent pregnancies from occurring, the abortion pill works to terminate an early pregnancy.
This method of ending a pregnancy usually involves taking two pills: first mifepristone, then misoprostol about 24 to 48 hours later. Together, these drugs stop a pregnancy from growing and then cause the uterus to contract and expel it. Medication abortion is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, and people can take the pills at home or in any location.
Theyre very, very safe and very effective, said Dr. Siripanth Nippita, a clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at N.Y.U. Langone Health.
Abortion is now banned in at least eight states, with trigger bans in additional states set to take effect soon. These restrictions affect all forms of abortion, including medication abortion.
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How Many Times Can You Take Emergency Contraception Medications
Even though there isnt a set restriction on how many times you can take the morning-after pill, you shouldn’t use it as routine birth control. This type of birth control is meant to be used in emergency situations when your birth control has failed, wasn’t used or in cases of non-consensual intercourse.
With Fams And Periodic Abstinence Plan B Is Uneccessary
Weve now established that Plan B and the abortion pill regimen are not the same, although some mistakenly conflate the two terms. Plan B and other forms of emergency contraception are intended to prevent pregnancy by stopping ovulation. Chemical abortion is intended to stop a pregnancy already begun by depriving the developing embryo of vital nutrients and then causing the womans body to go into preterm labor to expel the remains. Plan B has to be taken within a few days of unprotected sex, whereas medication abortion pills are given up to nine weeks since a womans last known menstrual period.
Most importantly, weve pointed out that if a woman wasnt within her fertile window when she had sex, theres no need to fear an unplanned pregnancy . Women who use fertility awareness methods or methods of natural family planning have the distinct advantage of knowing when intercourse is most likely to result in a pregnancyand when it is not.
Click here to read our companion article detailing the data concerning whether or not Plan B may cause early abortions.
References:
Edelman, Alison B et al. Double Dosing Levonorgestrel-Based Emergency Contraception for Individuals With Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Obstetrics and gynecology vol. 140,1 : pp. 48-54. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000004717
Festin M RR, et al. Effect of BMI and body weight on pregnancy rates with LNG as emergency contraception: analysis of four WHO HRP studies.Contraception. vol 95, no. 1 : pp. 50-54.
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Where Can I Get Plan B Right Now
Did ya know that Plan B has a shelf life of about four years? So its not a bad idea to grab a pack or two to have on hand for when emergencies pop up, especially if youre in a state where access to abortion is limited .
Hopefully, your local pharmacy has some Plan B on the shelf when you arrive. You dont need a prescription for Plan B, Dr. Ginde explains, and itll likely cost you between $35 and $50 at the checkout counter. You can get the morning-after pill for free if you have Medicaid, and you can access low-cost or free emergency contraception from your local Planned Parenthood or reproductive health clinic . If theres no way of accessing Plan B near you, dont worry. You can order emergency contraception online with super-fast shipping from services like Nurx, Favor, and Wisp.Dr. Ginde notes that its safe for you to take emergency contraception as often as needed, but you dont wanna rely on your stock of Plan B pills as your regular form of birth control. These pills are also less effective than other forms of regular and routine birth control, says Dr. Ginde. If you find yourself using them more than a couple of times, talk with your provider about the many forms of birth control that can be reliably used on a regular basis.
What Is Plan B And How Does It Work
First, some background. Plan B works by interfering with ovulation so fertilization cant occur, thereby preventing pregnancy. It contains progestin, a synthetic form of the sex hormone progesterone, and should be taken within three days of unprotected sex. You can buy it over the counter, and it sometimes causes side effects such as nausea, abdominal pain, and irregular bleeding. Worth noting: Depending on what morning-after pill you take, if you are over a certain BMI, theres a chance it may not be as effective, though the FDA says evidence for this is limited.
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Abortion Information You Can Trust
carafem medical standards and guidelines have been composed and approved by Board-certified Ob/Gyn Physicians as part of the carafem medical committee. We are members of NAF and the Abortion Care Network. carafem is a nationally known expert in providing abortion care that is professional, affordable, private, and responsive to the individual needs of the people we serve. Still have questions? Check out our FAQ page, or call us at , or find a location near you.
How Do You Know If Plan B Worked
The only way to know if Plan B has prevented pregnancy is to wait for your next period. If your period arrives more than a week late, you may want to consider taking a pregnancy test. Some women will experience light bleeding after taking Plan B and may take this as a sign that its worked to prevent pregnancy. However, spotting is an expected side effect of the morning-after pill and isnt an indication that it has or has not prevented pregnancy. Getting your period and/or a negative pregnancy test is the only way to know for sure.
Plan B is not an abortion pill and will not end a pregnancy if youre already pregnant. If youve accidentally taken Plan B after youre already pregnant, its good to know that there is no evidence to suggest that its harmful to developing babies. If it doesnt work and you become pregnant, its unlikely that it will cause harm to you or your baby. Talking with your healthcare provider is the best way to learn about family planning methods that will work best for you.
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Is There A Difference Between Plan B Pill And Abortion Pill
Your period is late, you pee a lot, youre tired, and to top it off, youre scared! Is it possible that you are pregnant? Being sexually active and not regularly using contraception means, most likely, yes. Out of fear, you think, All this will go away if I just take that pill. Which pill? The abortion pill or Plan B? How do you know which one to take? Lets clear up some of the confusion.
How To Know If Plan B Worked
After taking Plan B, its tempting to try and guess whats happening in your body based on how you feel, but unfortunately you wont be able to tell if it worked or not right away.
Some of the earliest signs of pregnancy are the ones linked to hormonal changes in your body, like breast tenderness, nausea, fatigue, or moodiness. But Plan B can cause similar symptoms!12 If youve taken Plan B, there are no symptoms that will be a sure sign of whether it worked. The only way to know is to wait until your next period or to take a pregnancy test. If youre feeling anxious, you can take some pregnancy tests as early as six days before your expected period date.
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How Does Plan B Work
Current research suggests that Plan B works mainly by delaying or preventing ovulation. It may also prevent fertilization.
As far as we know, Plan B is no longer effective once an egg is fertilized. It doesnt prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus or interfere with an implanted zygote.
Many researchers have challenged this idea, including the authors of a . They argued that Plan B is too effective to work solely at the ovulation stage and concluded that it probably has effects after fertilization.
We dont know whether this is true or not.
Indeed, the authors of a 2015 literature review indicated that it might not be scientifically possible to prove that Plan B has no effects after an egg is fertilized.
They stressed that according to the best evidence we have, EC pills do not appear to work after fertilization.
In addition, keep in mind that according to the standard medical definition, pregnancy begins with implantation.
How To Use Plan B
Plan B is an oral tablet. A person should follow all instructions on the product and consult a healthcare professional if they have any questions.
Kaiser Permanente recommends that individuals take one tablet with or without food within 72 hours after having sex without a barrier method. If they vomit within 2 hours, a doctor can advise whether it is best to take another pill.
A person should inform their doctor if they have had unexplained vaginal bleeding before taking the Plan B pill.
It is best for a person to consult a doctor 3 weeks after taking levonorgestrel contraception. They can check that the pill has worked and the individual is not pregnant or experiencing any harmful effects.
Plan B or other levonorgestrel pills are not intended for regular birth control. According to the manufacturer, Plan B is safe to take while breastfeeding and typically does not affect breastmilk supply. However, anyone breastfeeding or chestfeeding should consider seeking medical advice before taking any of these drugs.
Emergency contraceptive pills work only after one episode of sex without a barrier method. That said, individuals who engage in sexual activity without any barrier methods in the same cycle should take the pill again.
According to Planned Parenthood, Plan B and other levonorgestrel morning-after pills are available without a prescription for persons of any age.
They can purchase it from an online provider or schedule collection at their local pharmacy.
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Pregnant Pause: Plan B& Overweight Women
The Plan B contraceptive pill is the most affordable and convenient form of emergency contraception for women in the U.S., yet it has a remarkable failure rate in larger women.
Physicians may want to think twice before suggesting the Plan B pill to patients in need of emergency contraception .
The results of a large European study show that the popular form of EC, levonorgestrel 1.5 mg, loses its potency in women weighing about 165 pounds and does not work at all in women weighing 175 pounds or more. Since the average weight of a woman in the U.S. is 166.2 pounds according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , women have few options but to take a gamble on the only approved form of over-the-counter emergency contraception.
The study originally set out to compare the effectiveness of different types of EC. It studied the outcomes of the levonorgestrel morning after pill and the ulipristal acetate pill known as Ella in about 2,000 women. The lead author, Anna Glasier, MD, honorary professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, and a world-renowned expert on EC, decided the data would be more practical if it could be used to identify at-risk patients.
Somewhere between 90% to 95% of women who take emergency contraception do not appear to be at great risk of pregnancy, so if you could work out who was genuinely at risk, it might help you as a clinician, she explains.
Who Can Use The Iud
Most women can use an IUD, including those who are HIV positive. A GP or nurse will ask about your medical history to check if an IUD is suitable for you.
The IUD might not be suitable if you have:
- an untreated sexually transmitted infection or a pelvic infection
- problems with your womb or cervix
- unexplained bleeding between periods or after sex
The emergency IUD wont react with any other medicines youre taking.
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Is It Usual To Bleed After
Vaginal bleeding isnt a common side effect of Plan B, but it can happen. Its caused by the hormones in Plan B and other EC pills. Usually, bleeding is light and goes away.
In rare cases, bleeding could be caused by something more serious. You should seek medical attention if you experience:
- unusually heavy bleeding
How Long After Unprotected Sex Should I Wait Before Taking The Morning
You don’t need to wait until the next morning to take the morning-after pill. Emergency contraception pills are most effective at preventing pregnancy when theyre taken as quickly as possible after unprotected sexual intercourse. The amount of time you have can vary between different medications.
- Progestin-only pills : For these medications, you typically have about a three-day window of time when Plan B will still be effective. It becomes less effective at preventing pregnancy the longer you wait. If you take a progestin-only medication within five days of unprotected sex, it can be moderately effective.
- Ulipristal : This type of emergency contraception pill is more effective for a longer period of time. With this medication, you have up to five days after unprotected sex where its still effective at preventing pregnancy.
- Combined birth control pills: Combining birth control pills that contain progestin and estrogen can be used as emergency contraception for up to five days after intercourse. There can be a lot of variety between different brands of birth control pills, so its a good idea to talk to your healthcare provider about the exact timing and dosage.
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How Does The Morning
The morning-after pill doesnt reverse pregnancy. Instead, it’s a type of emergency birth control that prevents pregnancy. The main way the morning-after pill works is by preventing ovulation. Ovulation is a part of your normal reproductive cycle. This is the phase when your ovaries release an egg that can then be fertilized by sperm and begin the fetal development process. If you dont ovulate, you can’t get pregnant.
