# How to use "the pill" as morning after contraception? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356 "2002-12-28T13:32:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Texican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Texican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Texican)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/1 "2002-12-28T13:32:58Z")
I have read several times in reputable publications that it has been known for decades that, by taking a number of birth control pills at once (i believe the number is like 5 or 7) will have the same effect as a morning after pill in preventing pregnancy. The context in which I read it was that girls who had forgotten to take the pill a number of times in a month had been instructed by their doctors to take a number of them at once in order to prevent the fertilized egg (assumption) from being able to attach itself to the uterus. Can anyone give me more details on this; how it is done, risks, and the specific circumstances under which it will work? ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/2 "2002-12-28T14:54:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Can anyone give me more details on this; how it is done, risks, and the specific circumstances under which it will work? How it is done - Your doctor carefully explains it to you. Risks - as I understand it, the same as any termination of pregnancy, hence the need for a doctor, in case of problems. Specific circumstances - under a doctor’s care. I myself have never done it, but do know people who did, they said it was far from being the “easy out” they expected. I’m sorry to be so cryptic, but I imagine this thread has a very limited shelf life before being locked. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/3 "2002-12-28T16:39:31Z")
There’s no mystery about this and no need for a doctor’s supervision. The following site has a table showing how to use just about any oral contraceptive pill type for “morning after” contraception. It also lists side effects. > **[Fact Sheets and Reports | Planned Parenthood](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/facts-figures/fact-sheets-reports)** > > Get informative fact sheets and reports on topics like abortion, sex & sexuality, STDs, birth control, pregnancy, and the Planned Parenthood organization. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/4 "2002-12-28T16:40:20Z")
[From the good people at Planned Parenthood](http://www.plannedparenthood.org/library/BIRTHCONTROL/EmergContra.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/5 "2002-12-28T16:41:25Z")
Wow, I feel so redundant 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/6 "2002-12-28T16:50:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yeah \* > There’s no mystery about this and no need for a doctor’s supervision. I wouldn’t say there’s **no** need, considering these statements: “Some clinicians review your medical history before they prescribe ECP. Some may want you to give informed consent by signature or over the telephone.” “Contact your health care provider immediately if you have had unprotected intercourse and you think you might become pregnant. Ask about Emergency Contraception.” That clearly indicates that a medical professional is or should be involved. I also can’t emphasize enough that one should not “borrow” a few pills from a friend to do this, or that if you do, you should get to a doctor ASAP. Oral contraceptives are prescription only, and there are various health conditions and other things that can make a woman a very poor candidate for taking them. Occasionally serious, even life-threatening, side effects (blood clots, among other side effects) may result. Please call a medical professional if you need ECP, or at the very, very least, get one involved (at least over the phone) as soon as possible if you self-medicate. IANAD, but I’ve worked in health care for several years, including triaging medical issues over the phone. ---
**Author:** ![Texican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Texican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Texican)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/7 "2002-12-28T19:53:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Poysyn \* > \*\* > > I’m sorry to be so cryptic, but I imagine this thread has a very limited shelf life before being locked. \*\* why on earth would a reasonable question trigger a locked thread? thanks to the other posters who pointed me toward PP. I can now forward the link to a female friend of mine who needs the info. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/8 "2002-12-28T21:10:57Z")
It’s up to you how much of this you would like to tell your friend, but I do know that chemical termination of pregnancy is not an easy road, it’s painful and can result in some dangerous side effects. I was under the impression that the mods didn’t like threads that could possible result in them inadvertantly doing physical harm to themselves, as this one potentially could. I hope your friend, if they are inquiring for the purpose of using it, will actually go to her doctor, just in case something does go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/9 "2002-12-28T21:44:13Z")
"but I do know that chemical termination of pregnancy [by using oral contraceptives as “morning after’ pills] is not an easy road, it’s painful and can result in some dangerous side effects.” Do you have any evidence to support these claims? (By evidence, I mean verifiable facts, not religious beliefs which belong on a different board.) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/10 "2002-12-28T21:46:59Z")
**Poysin** , the OP is talking about morning-after pills **before** the fertilized egg (assumption, it may very well not even exist) attaches to the uterus. Until that happens, there is no pregnancy, unless you believe it begins at conception. You are right, that there are side effects, but if the information is easily available from Planned Parenthood, giving precautions and side effects, there’s no need to be cryptic about it. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/11 "2002-12-28T22:04:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Poysyn \* > **It’s up to you how much of this you would like to tell your friend, but I do know that chemical termination of pregnancy is not an easy road, it’s painful and can result in some dangerous side effects.** I think there may be some confusion here between the “morning after pill” and RU486. Emergency contraception consists of two high doses of progesterone or estrogen/progesterone pills (which should indeed be supervised by a health care professional, due to possible unpleasant side effects). This disrupts the regular menstrual cycle, ofteh preventing ovulation or prompting early menstruation. **Emergency contraception does not terminate a pregnancy if you consider a pregnancy to begin when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus.** Not only will it not terminate a pregnancy if implantation has already taken place, there is also evidence that it will not harm the fetus in that case. RU486, or mifepristone, on the other hand, does terminate an early pregnancy and is therefore only available to someone who is under the direct care of a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/12 "2002-12-28T22:40:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yeah \* > Do you have any evidence to support these claims? (By evidence, I mean verifiable facts, not religious beliefs which belong on a different board.) I would worry about some rare cases in which women, especially those who hadn’t been checked out by a physician beforehand, might suffer one of the more serious side effects associated with taking oral contraceptives ( [http://www.plannedparenthood.org/bc/you\_and\_pill.htm#Early%20Warning](http://www.plannedparenthood.org/bc/you_and_pill.htm#Early%20Warning) ). This is one reason why I emphasized that it would be beneficial to contact a medical professional. Admittedly, the chances would be most likely reduced compared to a woman who goes on oral contraceptives as a monthly prescription, but still not out of the realm of possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/13 "2002-12-28T22:44:40Z")
When I hear “chemical termination of a pregnancy,” I think HCl! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-use-the-pill-as-morning-after-contraception/145356/14 "2002-12-29T00:29:42Z")
No cites from publications, only first-hand knowledge from the four friends I know that have used this method following condom breaks (two friends), forgetting too many pills in a row (one friend) and a drunken encounter without protection (one friend). The ones that talked about it at length after complained of really bad cramping, migranes, heavy bleeding, vomitting, diarrhea and a few other pleasant side effects. These are also common side effects for someone starting out on the pill (which I can personally vouch for) or for someone on the wrong dose. The thing to remember is you are dosing your body with a massive amount of hormones, which as any pregnant, PMSing, menopausal or guy using steroids can vouch for, can cause your body to react in many funky ways. I am not saying this information shouldn’ t be available to anyone that wants it, just that they should have some medical guidance before using any medicine that they are unfamiliar with (if she is not currently on the pill) or in a way that she has never used it before. That way if something does go wrong, or if she has some sort of reaction to it, she is able to get the follow-up care that she could need.