Sex: The Morning After
What happens when the condom breaks?
Or when the ‘pull-out’ wasn’t pulled out in time? “I start dreaming of menstrual cycles,” said a handsome South Beach business owner. “It’s a tricky situation because the woman has total control over what happens next. She might ask for my opinion, but there really is no right answer when you think she might be pregnant. It’s not like you can say, Get rid of it.”
“What about the morning-after pill?” I asked, “Have you ever considered that?”
He responded, “I just learned about that from you. I’ve heard about the morning after pill in passing, but I never really paid attention or thought about it as an option before meeting you.” I have a special effect on people. Which is probably why my girlfriend, who lives in the Cayman Islands, said, “I call you whenever I mess up. Remember that time a couple of yearsago?” I remember well. She was in a panic so I sent her to see one of my physician friends to get the morning after pill. Thirty minutes later, she called to tell me the crisis had been averted because emergency contraception was safely swimming in her system. She also thanked me for referring her to one of my friends, because, “Other doctors on the Island won’t prescribe Plan B.”
Isn’t it great to be an American woman? In the United States, anyone over 17 years old with fifty bucks in their pocket can get the morning after pill without a prescription. It’s also available to younger folks, but a prescription is required. Online shoppers can even mail-order Plan B from amazon.com, but remember to get over-night shipping, because the sooner the morning after pill is taken, the more effective it is.
According to Princeton University’s emergency contraception website (us ivy-leaguers are pretty liberal), most experts agree that the morning after pill is safe for women and “should be taken within 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex and can reduce the risk for pregnancy up to 89%.” The Plan B manufacturers advise women to take it within 3 days (72 hours) after unprotected sex and claim that, “about seven of every eight women who would’ve gotten pregnant will not become pregnant.”
Many people believe in birth control but oppose abortion. So let’s be clear. The morning after pill is not the abortion pill. In fact, these medications are very different. RU-486, also known as the abortion pill, is Mifepristone and causes a pregnant woman to lose an existing fetus. Plan B, affectionately called the morning after pill, is Levonorgestrel, and can be compared to an extrastrength birth control pill.
Emergency contraception is another name for Plan B because it should only be taken in an emergency, and not as a routine form of birth control.
But I understand that hot sex with someone you’re sure is safe from STDs sometimes qualifies as an urgent emergency. If that hot sex happens in an American city, you can probably get your hands on the morning after pill, but if your hot sex happens in a remote jungle, or on a conservative Island with just a handful of doctors, the morning after can get tricky.
But it doesn’t have to be if you’re around another woman with some birth control pills to spare. And chances are you will be because more than 100 million women throughout the world are using birth control pills. Luckily, many brands of birth control can be used as a replacement for the morning after pill – the key is knowing the right combination of pills to use for the specific brand of birth control you can access.
Progressive Princeton University saves the day again. Their Office of Population Research posts a convenient chart of different brands of birth control pills than can be used as a substitute for the morning after pill. Those ivy leaguers are savvy about their sex protection!
And people—please don’t be silly about sex! It’s always best to talk to your own doctor before
listening to any advice from me! For all you know, I could be crazy!
Xo,
Sonjia
drsonjia.com
