“I had sex with my boyfriend without a condom yesterday, will I get pregnant?”

“Doctor, will emergency contraceptives hurt my body? I’ve taken it three times this month…”

In real life, you may have heard of this kind of problem. For those women who have no plans to have children, it is indeed very necessary to take a contraceptive pill afterwards, and for accidents in sex life, such as a broken condom, Unexpected sex, etc., emergency contraception after the fact is also a very good remedy.

However, such contraceptives are also charged with harming women’s bodies. So, what is the real face of emergency contraceptives? Here we take a closer look.

What exactly is emergency contraception?

The birth control pill has been around for 70 years. Among the oral contraceptives invented in 1950, the composition of the post-mortem contraceptive pill is not the same as the modern one, mainly estrogen. But modern morning-after pills have replaced estrogen with progesterone, and of course, the combination of progesterone and estrogen has also been experienced in morning-after pills.

After research and statistics, it was found that the probability of pregnancy caused by progesterone alone is only about 1%, but if the two are used together, it will increase to more than 3%. It is more appropriate for the contraceptive pill.

As for dosing , 1.5 mg of progesterone is the final ingredient, according to the FDA.

Why do emergency contraceptives prevent women from getting pregnant after sex?

Here we all know that if you want to get pregnant, an important condition is to give eggs and sperm in the right place and have a chance to meet. So, on the one hand, there must be sexual life, the male ejaculates, and on the other hand, the female successfully ovulates at this time.

The factors that cause ovulation in women depend on the secretion of a luteinizing hormone. When the level of this substance increases in a woman’s body, then a woman will ovulate. The function of emergency contraceptives is to reduce the level of luteinizing hormone through its higher concentration of progesterone, so that the probability of women ovulating is greatly reduced, and there is no chance for eggs and sperm to meet, so pregnancy is impossible. Of course, there are also surprises here. If the woman has released her eggs at this time, then the effect of emergency contraceptives after the event is very small.

Therefore, emergency contraception is not the preferred method of contraception for women.

Now that you understand the mechanism of action of emergency contraceptives, why do you say it hurts the body? What about the side effects?

What are the side effects of emergency contraception?

1. Gastrointestinal problems, the effect of progesterone on the gastrointestinal tract is obvious for some people, mainly affecting the peristalsis of the human body. After the gastrointestinal peristalsis is slowed down, it will lead to the emptying of food in the stomach , which may cause gastrointestinal discomfort such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

2. Irregular menstruation in women . This is because a large amount of progesterone suddenly appears, which will lead to endocrine disorders in women, and menstrual disorders will also occur, but this is generally transient, and it will improve after stopping taking the medicine.

3. Progesterone will make breasts swell, and women will feel breast tenderness.

4. The level of progesterone increases significantly, which may cause women to experience some discomfort that is usually difficult to detect. For example, they are slightly allergic to progesterone, and high concentrations of progesterone will aggravate allergic symptoms and cause itchy skin.

5. Individual women with hyperglycemia may experience unstable blood sugar, and the factors to consider may be related to the weakening of gastrointestinal function.

Regarding the physical injury of emergency contraceptives, women may think more about irregular menstruation. After all, once the regularity is broken, daily life will also change. Often, the regular life will become disordered. Gastrointestinal problems and poor nutritional intake will inevitably lead to impaired health.

But if it is said that emergency contraceptives are a beast, it is a big mistake, and it is still necessary to take them when necessary.

So, are there other situations where emergency contraception is not suitable?

This really exists! Some women must avoid taking it, or it may cause serious harm:

1. Women who are breastfeeding, taking emergency contraceptives may allow the drug to enter the child’s body through breast milk . At present, it is not known how it will affect the child. No one will use their own children for research. Breastfeeding after a few days.

2. Vaginal bleeding occurs during non-menstrual period. Taking emergency contraceptives at this time may cause doctors to think that it is a reaction caused by taking the medicine, ignoring the possible health risks.

3. People with poor liver function are not suitable to take it. Emergency contraceptives are metabolized by the liver, which will increase the burden on the liver and may also lead to residues in the body.

4. There is an interaction with certain drugs , such as taking anti-epileptic drugs together, which may lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of emergency contraceptives and lead to contraceptive failure; taking together with some hemostatic drugs, it is easy to form blood clots and cause danger.

5. For women who are already pregnant , although the study does not think that it will cause harm to women, high levels of progesterone may make the side effects more obvious.

How do emergency contraceptives work best?

Since it is time to take medicine, everyone hopes that taking the medicine will have an effect. In fact, there are certain skills. Let’s take a look:

Generally speaking, for emergency contraceptives after the fact, there are about 1 pill and 2 pills on the market. The two methods of taking are different. One pill needs to be taken by women within 3 days of sexual activity, that is, within 72 hours. The better the effect if taken early; and the 2 capsules should be taken within 3 days of the first capsule, and the second capsule should be taken within half a day to a day after that.

Generally speaking, if taken correctly, the contraceptive effect can be close to 90%.

In addition, it should be understood that emergency contraceptives have different ingredients. For example, the newer drug ingredients are not progesterone, but also progesterone receptor modulators, but the mechanism of action is roughly the same, which can inhibit female ovulation. It also prevents pregnancy by keeping the lining of a woman’s uterus incapable of implanting a fertilized egg.

Because its effect is better than that of progesterone-only emergency contraceptive pills, the method of taking the pills has also been relaxed. For example, one pill can be taken 120 hours after sex, that is, five days after sex, but if it can be taken within 3 days , then the contraceptive effect can reach almost 98%.

The new emergency contraceptive pill can achieve 98% effect, so is it almost foolproof? No, in some cases the chance of failure is higher.

So, what conditions lead to increased contraceptive failure rates?

We know the mechanism of emergency contraceptives, which is to prevent women from ovulating. Then, we also know about the failure methods of this mechanism. There are three main aspects:

1. Women are in the ovulation period , because emergency contraceptives control ovulation, but if a woman has ovulated, it is obviously possible to have an accident. Generally, there are certain risks in the three days before and after the ovulation period.

2. The time of taking the medicine is late. The general emergency contraceptive should be taken within three days and 72 hours. If it is taken late, it is estimated that the fertilized eggs have been combined with implantation. At this time, the effect of the drug must be relatively poor.

3. The drug concentration is not enough. Generally speaking, the drug concentration of 1.5 mg of progesterone is sufficient, but if there are women with high fat and high body weight, then the drug concentration may be relatively decreased, and the drug efficacy will also be affected, resulting in contraceptive failure.

If women with the above three conditions have delayed menstruation after taking the drug, remember to test for pregnancy as soon as possible so that measures can be taken as soon as possible.