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Health Services - Family Planning Program
Emergency Contraception (ECP, Morning After Pill, Plan B)
What is ECP?
- Plan B is to prevent pregnancy, but not to interrupt or disrupt an already established pregnancy
- it is safe and effective way to prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse
How to get ECP:
- if you are under 17 you will need to go to NEICAC Health Services Family Planning or a health care provider
for a prescription to get Plan B
- if you are over 17 Plan B is available at drugstores for women and men without a prescription
How to take ECP:
- take the pill as soon as possible after unprotected intercourse
- it must be taken within 5 days of unprotected intercourse. This allows the body to have time to absorb
the pills and let the hormones interrupt egg production and⁄or change the uterine lining before the
fertilized egg could implant.
- it can be taken in one dose or two doses. If you decide to do the two doses the second pill must be taken
12 hours after the first pill. Or take them both at the same time for the one dose.
What to expect after taking ECP:
- your period may be earlier or later than usual
- your period may be heavier, lighter, more spotty, or the same
- you may feel nauseous
- you may have breast tenderness
- you may have headaches
Plan B decreases the chance of pregnancy by 89%. If a woman has unprotected intercourse during midcycle, her risk of
pregnancy may be as high as 39% (3 in 10). When Plan B is used at other times in the cycle when risk of pregnancy
is lower, the degree of effectiveness is even greater. Emergency contraception does not provide any degree of contraceptive
protection if future unprotected intercourse occurs, even in the same menstrual cycle.
Click here for Plan B Information Sheet - English
click here for Plan B Information Sheet - Spanish
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