Emergency Contraception

If you’ve had unprotected sex or your contraception has failed you may need emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy. The sooner you take emergency contraception, the more options you have:

• Emergency contraception (“morning-after”) pill– there are two types:
  • Levonelle is an emergency contraceptive pill that can be taken up to 72 hours (3 days) after unprotected sex
  • EllaOne can be taken up to five days after unprotected sex
• IUD (coil)can be inserted:
  • Within five days of the earliest time, you could have released an egg.
  • Up to 5 days after unprotected sex

You can get free emergency contraception from your GP, contraception and sexual health clinics, specialist clinics like Brook, NHS walk-in centers’ and some pharmacies. You can also buy Levonelle and EllaOne from most pharmacies if you are over 16. If you are under 16 you will need a prescription from a doctor to buy this.

How it works?
Emergency Hormonal Contraceptive Pills (EHC) can:

• Delay ovulation (an egg being released)
• Prevent an egg being fertilised

It is not an abortion.

Advantages

• Does not affect future fertility
• You can purchase the EHC from the pharmacist without seeing a nurse/ doctor. Some pharmacies can provide EHC for free – check the details of your local scheme.

Disadvantages

Does not protect against STIs and you may experience side effects such as:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Breast tenderness
• Abdominal pain
• Irregular bleeding
• Fluid retention

Side effects are rare but if they do occur, they usually disappear within 1-2 days.

How effective is it?

The IUD is more effective than the EHC with a success rate of 99%.
 

Want to talk to somebody about what to do if you have had unprotected sex or your contraception has failed, contact our experienced team for advice and support.

How effective is it?
The IUD is more effective than the EHC with a success rate of 99%.
 

What makes it less effective?

• Delay in taking the pill after unprotected sex
• Vomiting within 2 hours of taking the pill
• Having unprotected sex after taking the pill

If vomiting occurs within 2 hours of taking the pill then you should seek advice from a doctor or nurse.

……….Want to talk to somebody about what to do if you have had unprotected sex or your contraception has failed, contact our experienced team for advice and support.

For more information on different forms of contraception, go to our contraception advice page.