8 Important Things To Know About Plan B

If you’re having sex, you’re probably aware of the risks, namely STDs and pregnancy. Hopefully, that means that you’re taking preventive measures by using protection and ensuring you and bae are safe. Even if you do that, you should also be aware that sometimes things don’t go to plan and you might find yourself in need of some emergency birth control.

No one is judging you. That’s the unpredictably of life. Maybe, the condom broke, maybe it slipped off, or maybe you and bae completely forgot to use one. Perhaps, you skipped taking a day of your pills and now you’re concerned about getting pregnant. The good thing is that you could be able to use emergency birth control pills. But, there are some important considerations and restrictions you need to know about. Here are eight important things to know about emergency birth control.

There Are A Few Different Names For It

You might know more about emergency birth control than you think, but you might know it as other names such as morning-after pills, emergency contraception, or by one of the product names like Plan B or Ella. It's important to know that they're all basically the thing as they serve the same purpose which is to *hopefully* prevent pregnancy.

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There A Different Kinds

Most people think of pills when they think of emergency contraception, but there are a few other types. One example is a copper IUD. Cosmopolitan reports that if a copper IUD is inserted within five days of unprotected sex, it has a 99.9 percent effectiveness rate of preventing a potential pregnancy. The key is the copper, non-hormonal IUD. It basically stops sperm from swimming up the Fallopian tubes.

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There's A Time Limit

If you've had unprotected sex or something went wrong and you're scared you could be pregnant, you need to act ASAP. This is no joke. The sooner you get the emergency contraception, the lower your chances of getting pregnant. Wed MD says it's best if you can get the emergency contraception within three days of having unprotected sex. Five days will still work, but it won't be as effective. After that, you're going to have to discuss your options with a doctor.

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There Are Certain Considerations To Think About

When it comes to choosing the best kind of emergency contraception, there are things to consider including your height and weight. Whether you're breastfeeding or not also makes a difference. When you had unprotected sex and whether you used the pill, patch, or ring are also factors that need to be taken into account, according to Planned Parenthood.

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There Are Different Places To Get Emergency Contraception

The good news is that there are various places to get emergency contraception so it hopefully won't be too difficult for you. Some like, Ella, require a prescription from a nurse or doctor, but the pills can be shipped the next day, per Planned Parenthood. Other pills are available over the counter in a lot of pharmacies and drugstores. If you want a copper IUD, a doctor will have to put it in.

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It Shouldn't Cost A Lot

Another fantastic thing about emergency contraception is that it's quite affordable. It might be more than other birth control methods, but you're still only looking at about $40 to $70. Some generic brands can even cost between $15 t0 $30. If you want to get an IUD, they can cost up to $1,000, but many health insurance companies cover the cost or offer low payment plans.

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There Are Some Side Effects

Regular birth control pills have side effects so it's not that surprising emergency birth control pills have them, too. Just be aware that the side effects are minor and will go away. They include things like bleeding, nausea, headache, cramping, dizziness, breast tenderness, etc. They're actually not that different from regular birth control side effects.

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Doubling Up On Emergency Birth Control Isn't Good

You might think that taking more than one emergency contraception pill will double your chances of not getting pregnant. That's not the case. Planned Parenthood reports that it could make you sick. What's more, if you mix different types of emergency contraception, they can work against each other, making them both less effective. Yikes.

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What did you know about emergency birth control pills? Let us know in the comments!