Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About...
Types of Emergency Contraception
What brands of emergency contraception are available in the United States?
Plan B is the only emergency
contraceptive pill (“morning
after pill” or “day after pill”) being sold
in the United States today, although you can also use many kinds of
daily birth control pills
to prevent pregnancy after
sex.
Plan B contains the hormone progestin.
Your other options for emergency
contraception include taking a different dose of your daily birth
control pills (most of which contain both progestin
and estrogen, so they are called “combined” pills)
or having a health care provider insert an IUD
within five days after your birth control failed, you had sex without
using contraception, or you were forced to have sex. Preven, the brand
name of a combined emergency
contraceptive pill that was approved for use in the United States,
is no longer being sold here. Plan
B is more effective and has fewer side effects
than other emergency
contraceptive pills.
Emergency contraceptive pills are available without prescription to women and men 18 and older in the
United States, though women 17 and under will still need a prescription from a healthcare provider to buy them (click
here for more information). In some
states, women of all ages can get emergency contraceptive
pills directly from a pharmacist, without having to see a doctor
first. Use our database to find
health care providers, including pharmacists, near you who offer emergency
contraception.