What is the emergency birth control pill?
The emergency birth control pill, also called the morning-after pill, is a birth control pill that can prevent pregnancy if a woman takes it within 72 hours (3 days) of having sex. It may be used when you have had sex without birth control or have been sexually assaulted (raped). It may also be used when a barrier method of birth control has failed (for example, a condom breaks). If you are already pregnant, emergency birth control will NOT work. The emergency birth control pill contains the female hormone called progestin. It may work in several ways to prevent pregnancy, such as: stop the release of an egg from the ovary (the most likely mechanism of action) stop fertilization (when the sperm joins with the egg) thicken the mucus of the cervix, making it hard for sperm to reach the egg keep a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb (least likely mechanism of action) If emergency birth control pills fail to keep you from getting pregnant, or you are already pregnant when you take th
