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Emergency Birth Control

How do emergency birth control pills work?
There are 2 types of Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECP) used in Canada: Ovral® and Plan B®. Ovral® contains the same female hormones, estrogen and progestin, as regular birth control pills but at a higher dose. Plan B® is made from the progestin hormone only.


ECP can affect various steps in the reproductive process. Primarily, ECP may stop an egg from being released by your ovaries (ovulation), or if ovulation has already occurred, change the uterus so the fertilized egg cannot attach itself to the wall of the uterus.


Precautions:

  • ECPs do NOT provide protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
  • ECP is NOT an abortion pill and does not work if you are already pregnant
  • ECPs provide only short-term protection against pregnancy, so it is important to discuss future contraception options with your health care provider


How effective are emergency birth control pills?

  • ECP reduces the risk of pregnany to between 0.2 and 3%. The sooner after intercourse that ECP is used, the better it works.
  • ECP may be used up to 5 days after unprotected sex but the effectiveness continues to decrease over that period of time.

Where can I get emergency birth control pills and how much do they cost?

  • Ovral® is free at community health centres, Yukon Communicable Disease Control (YCDC), hospitals and some doctors’ offices. It costs less than $10 at pharmacies and requires a prescription.
  • Plan B® is free at any community health centre, YCDC, and some doctors’ offices. You can also walk into pharmacy and purchase it without a prescription. It costs between $25 and $40 at pharmacies.

For phone numbers and locations of the above, please visit our Sexual Health page.

Notes:

  • see your health care provider if you vomit within 1 to 2 hours of taking the pills – you may need to take 2 extra pills.
  • you can get Gravol® or anti-nausea medication from your nurse or pharmacist to reduce the nausea – take it half an hour before each set of pills.
  • For both Ovral® and Plan B®, if you have not had your period within 21 days after taking ECP’s, see your health care provider for a pregnancy test.


Are there any side effects?
ECP is very safe for almost all women - nausea or vomiting are the most frequent side effects, and are more common with Ovral® than with Plan B®.

Other less common side effects of either drug can include the following:

  • headache
  • fatigue
  • abdominal pain
  • dizziness
  • breast tenderness
  • diarrhea
  • may cause changes in the timing of your menstrual cycle or cause bleeding between periods
  • no deaths or severe side effects have been associated with ECP. However, see your nurse or doctor if any side effects last for more than 2 days or you have severe abdominal pain, chest pain or trouble breathing, severe headaches, numbness in the arms and legs, blurred vision, swollen legs or severe leg pain after taking ECPs.

If I’m already pregnant, will the pills harm the fetus?

  • If you are already pregnant, one time emergency use of the pills will not cause a miscarriage, abortion or other harm to the fetus.