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Welcome to irishhealth.com (19 Jun, 2013) Quickfind

Emergency contraception - effectiveness?

I was prescribed and took the morning after pill. Five days later I had some blood discharge and this continued for several days. Is this normal? Is it still possible for me to be pregnant?

It is possible for you to be pregnant but it is highly unlikely that you are. All methods of contraception have failure rates including emergency contraception. Research shows that emergency contraception involving the use of the combined pill prevents conception in 98 % of cases, which means that it is highly unlikely that a woman using emergency contraception would become pregnant. The bleeding you refer to is probably not of any significance and may relate to the stage you were at in your menstrual cycle. The bleeding has no significance in relation to the success or failure of the emergency contraception. If it were to recur on an ongoing basis then you should discuss it with your doctor. I also think it is extremely important that you address your need for ongoing contraception. You are running the risk of becoming pregnant. If you are not involved in a long-term monogamous relationship then you also need to consider the risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease.


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