Plan B

Hey everyone - now that we have covered the common forms of birth control I want to discuss our last and most important topic. What to do if we screw up! Are we doomed if we make a human mistake and forget to use our method or use it incorrectly? Thank goodness the answer NO. Our back-up plan to a bad situation is called Emergency Contraception or better known as Plan B. Plan B is used when one has unprotected sex and fears that they could get pregnant. Plan B comes in a pill form and can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after the unprotected sex. Let’s explore more about this pill.

Kim Walters-Cross, LPN at Family Planning Health Services, says “Plan B used to be 2 pills but now can be purchased as one pill & is taken by mouth within 72 hours or even up to 120 hours after having unprotected sex.” When a situation happens; like a condom breaks, you forget to take your birth control pills for more than two days, your Nuva Ring falls out, or your Depo shot is overdue, Plan B works as a backup plan. Walters-Cross explains “once digested it prevents a pregnancy by altering the tubal transport of sperm and/or ova, by forming a mucous lining on the cervix, thus preventing fertilization.” Meaning: it prevents the sperm from finding the egg and making a baby.

There are side effects to Plan B. Walters-Cross says “the most common side effects are nausea (23.1%), vomiting (5.6%), and breast tenderness (10.8%). You may also experience some bleeding after taking it but don’t worry, everything is ok.”



The big controversy around Plan B is some people feel it is a form of abortion. However as Walter-Cross explained “it prevents a pregnancy from happening, just like the birth control pill prevents a pregnancy.” She continued to explain that Plan B is not effective once the process of implantation has begun. If a woman is already pregnant, no matter how many pills she takes, she will remain pregnant. “Plan B will not affect an established pregnancy or harm the developing fetus” Walter-Cross added, “Therefore, it is not fair to compare Plan B to the abortion pill RU486 because they work completely in two different ways.”

With any form of birth control the important thing to remember is that nothing is 100% effective except abstinence. But, if and when we do make a mistake it is good to know that there is help available – Plan B. Walter-Cross concluded that “keep in mind that the effectiveness of the pill can go down every time Plan B is used. So use wisely and remember that this is a way to prevent pregnancy, not a regular birth control method.”