Myths about Emergency Contraceptives

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There are still lots of misconceptions flying around about emergency Contraception. Many people are still confused about how emergency Contraception works and how it should be used. Here are some myths and truths about Contraception to help you understand the facts.

Myth: EC causes birth defects
EC does not increase the risk for birth defects. EC does not harm an established pregnancy. It will not harm your developing baby even if you don’t realize you are pregnant and have taken EC. This may be because you might have taken EC long before the organs would start to develop, making it impossible for EC to lead to birth defects.

Myth: EC can affect fertility
No, using emergency contraceptives do not affect future fertility.

Myth: You can only use ECP once or twice a year
Though ECP is not meant for repeated use, there is no harm in limited repeated use. As the name suggest, EC are to be meant to be used only during emergencies. You should never replace your regular method of Contraception as other methods are more effective than EC for regular use.

Myth: EC protects you from Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)
Emergency contraceptive does not protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or HIV/AIDS. It is a good idea to get tested for STDs if you have had unprotected sex. You may want to consider using condoms in future to protect against STDs even while using another method of birth control.

Myth: Emergency contraceptive pills will always make you feel sick
Most women do not experience any side effects after taking emergency Contraception pills. However nausea and vomiting may occur after taking the pills in some women. Other side effects include abdominal pain, headache, dizziness etc. Such side effects are usually minor and should go away within 1 or 2 days.

Myth: It is not safe to use ECP if you are breastfeeding
ECP is safe during breastfeeding. Single treatment with ECP is unlikely to have a significant effect on your breast milk quantity or quality. It is also not likely to affect your health, or growth or development of your baby. Some hormones present in the pill may pass into your breast milk but not significant enough to affect your baby adversely.

Myth: Taking ECP before is as effective as after the intercourse
There is no data currently available to support this. However, if you have enough time to plan to use ECP, you should consider using other birth control methods like condoms.

Myth: ECP can be used to terminate pregnancy
Emergency contraceptive pills cannot terminate pregnancy. ECPs work by preventing a pregnancy before it happens. It is not effective if implantation, i.e., when a fertilized egg has attached itself to the wall of the womb has already occurred. Moreover it would not hurt your developing baby if you happen to take ECP while you are pregnant.

Adapted from: Emergency Contraception and Brief Update on Regular Contraception. Guide Book for Health-Care Providers. By Suneeta Mittal, Director-in-Charge WHO-CCR in Human Reproduction, AIIMS. 2003.

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