As we already told you, the emergency contraceptive pill is the last option to which women should go to prevent an unwanted pregnancy and should be swallowed as soon as possible after unprotected sexual practice.

Here we tell you how and when to take the Pill to increase its effectiveness.

When to take it an Emergency Contraceptive Pill

It is important not to make frequent use of this method of contraception and to limit ourselves to emergency cases. We recommend you take them on these occasions:

• Sexual relations without protection.
• Unused sexual intercourse, failure, rupture or sliding of the condom.
• Forgetting the oral contraceptive in use.
• Expulsion of the IUD.
• I forgot to change the contraceptive patch.
• Oblivion or misuse of spermicides.
• In case of violation.

How to take an Emergency Contraceptive Pill

The emergency contraception can be purchased in two forms:

Single Dose

We refer to when we bought a blister pack with a single 1.5 mg tablet of levonorgestrel.

In this case, the pill should be taken as soon as possible, within the first 120 hours after intercourse. The more time passes, the less effective it will be. Keep in mind that if administered from 0 to 24 hours after unprotected intercourse, the average effectiveness is 95%, decreasing as the hour’s pass.

Double Dose

In this case, the first tablet should be taken as soon as possible or within 120 hours after the unprotected intercourse, and the second, 12 hours after the first dose.

The double dose has the same effectiveness as the only dose (there are many myths about this), so also as time passes the effectiveness is reduced and the immediacy of the administration is equally important.

International Aval

The World Health Organization ( WHO ) has endorsed this type of contraceptive and ensures that it is safe and suitable for almost all types of women. The sale is exclusive in pharmacies and no analysis is required to take the emergency pills. What we do recommend is that after they take you to make a consultation with your doctor.

To consider

The emergency contraceptive pill does not replace other regular methods such as oral pills or the IUD. It also does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, because it should not be used in place of condoms.

If you had an unprotected sexual relationship (or your regular contraceptive method failed), we recommend that you always buy brands of emergency contraceptive pills or “morning after pills” from recognized laboratories that have been on the market for several years.

The original and most recognized brand of this product in Argentina is called Segurite, but there are also other new brands in the market and for sale in the pharmacies that can be obtained.

Hope you like this information? If you have doubts, do not forget to check with your doctor.