Plan B: All About Emergency Contraception

Oops! So Plan A was:

No sex for me tonight.

We’ll be OK if we just use a condom.

I’ll always remember to take my pill on time.

I can handle one more drink and still be in control.

I’ll just leave my drink on the bar while I go talk to my friend.

He’ll stop if I tell him to.

Plan A didn’t work out so well.

Sex “just happened.”

The condom broke.

I forgot to take my pill…..again.

I got drunk.

You were drugged.

You were date raped.

It used to be when unprotected sex happened all you could do was wait, hope, or pray for your period to make an appearance. Now you have Plan B, otherwise know as “the morning after pill” or “emergency contraception.”

Plan B stops pregnancy 89% of the time if taken within 3 days (72 hours) of unprotected sex. It can be taken up to 5 days (120 hours) because sperm can live that long in your body, but works best when taken as soon as possible.

It works by preventing an egg from being released from an ovary and thickens the mucus in the cervix making it harder for sperm to make its way to the egg. There is no evidence that Plan B stops a fertilized egg from attaching to the wall of the uterus or causes an abortion by causing an attached fertilized egg to detach.

Plan B is made from a high dose of progestin, one of the main ingredients in birth control pills. Side effects? One out of 4 females feels nausea for a day or so. However, it is emergency contraception – for women who would have become pregnant, it reduces pregnancy by 89%. It’s also more effective the sooner it’s taken.

Plan B offers no protection against Sexually Transmitted Infections. You may want to be tested for them also.

If you are male or female 17 years old or older, you can buy Plan B without a prescription. (Yes, men can buy it too!) If you are a female under 17, you will need a prescription, but not the consent of a parent. (However, we here at the Feronia Project believe that there should be no age limit to buying emergency contraception.)

You can find Plan B at Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, health clinics or a pharmacy. Prices vary, so check things out before you buy.

It’s nice to know you have a Plan B when Plan A hasn’t worked out so well!

Edit: Some updates to effectiveness statistics.

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