[Emergency contraception]

The aim of this study was to point to the significance of emergency contraception following unsafe sexual intercourse. This method of contraception has been in use since the middle sixties, although in our country it is not applied very often. Indications for emergency contraception comprise every woman who experiences contraceptive failure or those not using any common contraception for any reason.

Emergency contraceptive devices are most often applied either in combination with estrogen and progesterone or only progesterone in high dosage (0.25 mg levonorgestrel and 50 mg ethinyl-estradiol) during 72 hours after the intercourse and a repeated dose 12 hours later.

Emergency contraception is recommended as a single procedure. If used several times during a year, the risk of unwanted pregnancy increases. The mechanism of effect of emergency contraception depends on the timing during menstrual cycle; it can prevent ovulation, fertilization or implantation. Emergency contraception does not cause abortion and it is not effective if the process of implantation has started. Unwanted side-effects are not known.