MORNING AFTER PILL FACTS

If you’re worried about an unplanned pregnancy, you can take the morning after pill as emergency contraception. The sooner you take it, the more effective it will be.

We offer ellaOne, Levonelle and levonorgestrel. Which one is right for you depends on when you had unprotected sex, your weight or BMI, or if you’re taking certain drugs that affect your liver.

If you have used any hormonal contraception in the last seven days you cannot use ellaOne, you must select Levonelle, levonorgestrel or have the copper coil fitted (see below).

If you know you’ve ovulated already and you’re in the second half of your cycle this month, please still use the morning after pill as soon as possible. But your best option is the copper coil. We advise you to use both to prevent unwanted pregnancy.

The pills work by stopping, or delaying, the release of an egg. This means it can’t be fertilised by sperm.

You should take the tablet as soon as possible after unprotected sex.

For ellaOne you must take it within five days (120 hours). For Levonelle and levonorgestrel (single or double dose) you must take it within three days (72 hours).

We advise everyone to take a pregnancy test three weeks after using emergency contraception.

It’s important that you tell us which other medicines you’re taking — whether they’re prescription or medicines you’ve bought without a prescription. We need to know so that we can prescribe a suitable emergency contraception for you. The morning after pill can be less effective if taken with certain other drugs or with specific conditions.

The morning after pill is a form of emergency contraception. You should not use it in place of regular methods of contraception. It’s not as effective as options like the pill, condoms or the long acting methods: implant, coil, or injection.

If absolutely necessary, it’s possible to take the morning after pill more than once in a menstrual cycle, however it’s not as effective as regular contraception.

If you’re using emergency contraception for the third time in three months or less, we’d like to talk to you to help you find a suitable long-term contraceptive.

If you’ve taken ellaOne you should wait five days until you (re)start your regular oral contraception.

You can (re)start your oral contraception immediately after taking Levonelle or levonorgestrel.

For both, you should use condoms for seven days or until your next period. If you have any questions about your contraception, please message us.

Routine contraception is a much more effective way to protect against pregnancy. You can visit our online contraceptive pill service or talk to your GP or local family planning clinic to find a long-acting method, like the implant or coil, that’s best-suited to you.

Emergency contraception does not protect you from sexually transmitted infections (STIs). If you’ve had unprotected sex you could have caught an STI so it’s best to get ested. You can order a test through our home test kits service.