Skip to content
Sign in

Emergency contraception, and the windows

The lesson where the numbers matter most, because a wrong one changes what somebody does.

Lesson 4 of 5

9 min Text

What this lesson says

  • The widely available tablet in India is licensed up to 72 hours and works better the sooner it is taken
  • A copper IUD fitted within five days is the most effective form, and can stay as ongoing contraception
  • There is more than one kind of emergency pill, with different windows and interactions
  • It does not end an existing pregnancy and it is not an abortion
  • Take a pregnancy test if your period is more than a week late

This is general education. It is not advice about your own situation, and it does not replace seeing a clinician.

Written lesson.
  1. 1. Two windows, and they are different. The emergency contraceptive pill most widely available in India is licensed for use up to 72 hours after unprotected sex. A copper IUD fitted within five days is the most effective form of emergency contraception there is, and it can then stay in place as ongoing contraception.
  2. 2. Sooner is better with any pill. Effectiveness falls across the licensed window, so the same tablet taken on the first morning is not doing the same job as one taken on the third evening. If this applies to you today, this is a today problem.
  3. 3. There is more than one kind of emergency pill, with different windows and different interactions — including with some regular hormonal contraceptives and with certain other medicines. Ask the pharmacist or the clinician rather than assuming.
  4. 4. The copper IUD is the option most people have never heard of, and it has both the longest window and the highest effectiveness. The practical constraint is that it needs a clinician to fit it.
  5. 5. Two things to be clear about. Emergency contraception does not end an existing pregnancy; it is not an abortion. And it is not a method to rely on regularly — it is less effective than ongoing contraception, and needing it repeatedly is a reason to talk about a method that fits you better.
  6. 6. Afterwards: take a pregnancy test if your period is more than a week late or much lighter than usual. If you were sick within a couple of hours of taking a pill, ask whether you need another.

All lessons in this course

  1. 1 What actually separates the methods 11 min
  2. 2 Suitability, and why it is a conversation rather than a counter 12 min
  3. 3 The first few months, and what your periods will do 10 min
  4. 4 Emergency contraception, and the windows 9 min Reading now
  5. 5 What the public health system provides 8 min

No lesson is locked. Ticks appear once you have an account, so that what you have read is yours and not this device's.