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The Emergency Contraception Website - Your website for the "Morning After"

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About...

Types of Emergency Contraception

Which birth control pills can be used for emergency contraception in the United States?


There are nearly two dozen brands of pills that can be used for emergency contraception in the United States today. Several products are specifically approved and marketed here as emergency contraceptive pills:

EC should be taken as soon as possible after sex. If you are using Next Choice or Levonorgestrel Tablets, take both doses at the same time. Plan B One-Step and Next Choice One Dose contain the same amount of progestin as Next Choice or Levonorgestrel Tablets, but there's only one pill to take.

 

You can also use a different dose of a number of brands of regular birth control pills. While these are not sold specifically as emergency contraceptive pills, they have been proven safe and effective for preventing pregnancy in the few days after sex. These daily birth control pills contain two hormones, progestin and estrogen, and are taken in two doses. You take the first dose as soon as possible (up to 120 hours after you have sex without using birth control, your birth control failed, or you were made to have sex against your will. You take the second dose 12 hours later (although being an hour or two early or late probably won’t make a difference in how effective the pills are).

 

Emergency contraceptive pills have no long-term or serious side effects, and it is safe for almost every woman to use them.


 Here are some other things to know about taking emergency contraceptive pills:

  • Don't take more than one kind of EC. The active ingredient in ella may counteract the effect of levonorgestrel, the active ingredient in Plan B One-Step and Next Choice.

  • Don’t take extra pills. They probably won’t reduce your risk of pregnancy any more than the recommended dose for emergency contraception. But they will make it more likely you’ll feel sick to your stomach (one of the more common side effects).
  • If you feel sick to your stomach, it should be only mild nausea that goes away in a day or so.
  • If you throw up within an hour after taking the pills, call your health care provider. You may need to repeat a dose, and it might make sense to take some anti-nausea medication (Find out more about side effects here).
  • If you have any other symptoms you are worried about, contact your health care provider. Ask for an appointment right away if you have:
    • Severe pain in your leg (calf or thigh)
    • Several abdominal pain
    • Chest pain or cough or shortness of breath
    • Severe headaches, dizziness, weakness, or numbness
    • Blurred or loss of vision or trouble speaking
    • Jaundice (if you see a yellowish tint in the whites of your eyes, your skin, or your mucus membranes)
  • Your next period should start within the next month, although it might come a few days early or late (find out more here). If you don’t get your period by the time you expect it, you might consider getting a pregnancy test.
  • Start using a regular birth control method you think you’ll be able to use every time you have sex because that will be more effective than relying only on emergency contraception. And, if there’s any chance you could be at risk of sexually transmitted infections, use a condom.

The table below lists all of the brands of oral contraception available in the U.S. which you can use to prevent pregnancy in the few days after sex. For information about how to use a specific pill as an emergency contraceptive, click on the brand name in the table.


Looking for options for emergency contraceptive pills in another country? Click here.

 

Table 1. Oral contraceptives that can be used for emergency contraception in the United Statesa

Brand Company First Doseb Second Doseb
(12 hours later)		 Ulipristal Acetate per Dose (mg) Ethinyl Estradiol
per Dose (µg)		 Levonorgestrel
per Dose (mg)c
Ulipristal acetate pills
ella Watson 1 white pill Noneb 30 - -
Progestin-only pills
Levonorgestrel Tablets  Perrigo 2 white pills Noneb - - 1.5
Next Choice Watson 2 peach pills Noneb - - 1.5
Next Choice One Dose Watson 1 peach pill None - - 1.5
Plan B One-Step Teva 1 white pill None - - 1.5
Combined progestin and estrogen pills
Altavera Sandoz 4 peach pills 4 peach pills - 120 0.60
Amethia Watson 4 white pills 4 white pills - 120 0.60
Amethia Lo Watson 5 white pills 5 white pills - 100 0.50
Amethyst Watson 6 white pills 6 white pills - 120 0.54
Aviane Teva 5 orange pills 5 orange pills - 100 0.50
Camrese Teva 4 light blue-green pills 4 light blue-green pills - 120 0.60
CamreseLo Teva 5 orange pills 5 orange pills - 100 0.50
Cryselle Teva 4 white pills 4 white pills - 120 0.60
Enpresse Teva 4 orange pills 4 orange pills - 120 0.50
Introvale Sandoz 4 peach pills 4 peach pills - 120 0.60
Jolessa Teva 4 pink pills 4 pink pills - 120 0.60
Lessina Teva 5 pink pills 5 pink pills - 100 0.50
Levora Watson 4 white pills 4 white pills - 120 0.60
Lo/Ovral Akrimax 4 white pills 4 white pills - 120 0.60
LoSeasonique Teva 5 orange pills 5 orange pills - 100 0.50
Low-Ogestrel Watson 4 white pills 4 white pills - 120 0.60
Lutera Watson 5 white pills 5 white pills - 100 0.50
Lybrel Wyeth 6 yellow pills 6 yellow pills - 120 0.54
Nordette Teva 4 light-orange pills 4 light-orange pills - 120 0.60
Ogestrel Watson 2 white pills 2 white pills - 100 0.50
Portia Teva 4 pink pills 4 pink pills - 120 0.60
Quasense Watson 4 white pills 4 white pills - 120 0.60
Seasonale Teva 4 pink pills 4 pink pills - 120 0.60
Seasonique Teva 4 light-blue-green pills 4 light-blue-green pills - 120 0.60
Sronyx Watson 5 white pills 5 while pills - 100 0.50
Trivora Watson 4 pink pills 4 pink pills - 120 0.50

 

Notes:
a ella, Plan B One-Step, Next Choice One Dose, Next Choice and Levonorgestrel Tablets are the only dedicated product specifically marketed for emergency contraception. The regular oral contraceptives listed above have been declared safe and effective for use as ECPs by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Outside the United States, about 100 emergency contraceptive products are specifically packaged, labeled, and marketed. Levonorgestrel-only ECPs are available either over-the-counter or from a pharmacist without having to see a clinician in 60 countries. In the U.S., Plan B One-Step, Next Choice One Dose, Next Choice and Levonorgestrel Pills are available over-the counter to women and men aged 17 and older. You can buy these pills by prescription if you are younger. ella is available by prescription only.


b The labels for Next Choice and Levonorgestrel Tablets say to take one pill within 72 hours after unprotected intercourse, and another pill 12 hours later. However, recent research has found that both pills can be taken at the same time. All of the brands listed here may be effective when used within 120 hours after unprotected sex, but should be taken as soon as possible.


c The progestin in Cryselle, Lo/Ovral, Low-Ogestrel and Ogestrel is norgestrel, which contains two isomers, only one of which (levonorgestrel) is bioactive; the amount of norgestrel in each tablet is twice the amount of levonorgestrel.

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This website is operated by the Office of Population Research at Princeton University and by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and has no connection with any pharmaceutical company or for-profit organization. This website is peer reviewed by a panel of independent experts.

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