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Related Experiment Videos

How safe is emergency contraception?

Abigail Norris Turner1, Charlotte Ellertson

  • 1Regional Program Manager, Population Council, Mexico City, Mexico. anorristurner@hotmail.com

Drug Safety
|August 9, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Emergency contraception effectively prevents pregnancy after unprotected sex. Despite some fears, scientific evidence and extensive clinical experience confirm its excellent safety profile for most women.

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Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Health
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Emergency contraception (EC) prevents pregnancy post-unprotected intercourse.
  • Current methods include hormonal pills and copper intrauterine devices (IUDs).
  • Mifepristone shows efficacy as EC but is restricted in availability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the safety and efficacy of emergency contraception.
  • To address common fears and misconceptions regarding EC use.
  • To provide evidence-based information for healthcare providers and women.

Main Methods:

  • Review of biomedical and social science literature.
  • Analysis of clinical experience with hormonal EC over 30 years.
  • Examination of safety data from studies and regulatory declarations.

Main Results:

  • EC has an excellent safety profile, confirmed by WHO and FDA.
  • Common fears regarding cardiovascular events, fertility, teratogenicity, and tolerability are largely unfounded.
  • Evidence does not support fears of reduced ongoing contraception use or increased risky sexual behavior.

Conclusions:

  • Emergency contraception is safe for nearly all women.
  • EC provides a crucial option for preventing unwanted pregnancies.
  • The risks associated with EC are significantly lower than those of pregnancy.

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