It is a means of emergency contraception and to prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse through the use of pills containing progestin hormone only in high concentration or combination pills, or the use of copper IUDs. These methods inhibit or delay ovulation, obstruct egg transfer and stop the fertilization process. It reduces the chance of pregnancy by between 75% and 90%, and its effectiveness increases when the time between intercourse and the use of the method is shorter.
| Disadvantages / side effects |
Advantages |
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- They have side effects that include: nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, fatigue, breast pain, and irregular vaginal bleeding or spotting (usually these effects do not last more than 24 hours after taking the dose)
- The time available for its use is limited after intercourse (within 72 hours for pills and five days for copper IUDs).
- They don’t protect against sexually transmitted diseases
- Not effective if there is a confirmed pregnancy.
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- They can be taken on any day of the menstrual cycle.
- They are used by women who do not want to become pregnant and do not have contraindications for use in the event of:
- Having intercourse without using any method of contraception.
- If the method fails (perforation of the condom and leakage of semen)
- Wrong use of contraception (missing one or more pills)
- Forced intercourse or rape
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