The use of contraception or ‘birth control’ is to allow you to plan a pregnancy at an appropriate time for you and your partner. It is one of the important factors of sexual health and ideally should be one of the main considerations when you become sexually active.

You can read about all the different types of contraception here.

Choices about your body are yours and yours alone. 

Advice for women seeking contraception, abortion and other sexual and reproductive healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic can be found here.

 

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Emergency contraception

If you have had unprotected sex or you think your contraception has failed and you wish to prevent pregnancy you can obtain emergency contraception which is often known as the ‘morning after pill’.  You should take emergency contraception as soon as you can after having unprotected sex; the sooner you take them the more effective they are. There are two kinds of emergency contraceptive pill: Levonelle, which has to be taken within 72 hours (three days) of sex, and ellaOne, which has to be taken within 120 hours (five days) of sex. Both pills work by preventing or delaying ovulation, they will not terminate a pregnancy if you have already conceived.

You can get the emergency contraceptive pill for free from:

• a GP surgery that provides contraception
• a sexual health clinic
• some pharmacies 
• some Accident & Emergency departments

The doctor/nurse or pharmacist you see may ask for the following information:

• when you have had unprotected sex in your current menstrual cycle
• the date of the first day of your last period and the usual length of your cycle
• details of any contraceptive failure (such as how many pills you may have missed)
• if you've used any medications that may affect your contraception

You do not need a prescription to get Levonelle. You can buy it from your pharmacy or if you are a registered with a doctor in Scotland you can ask your pharmacist to write you a prescription, in which case you can access Levonelle free of charge. You can also access Levonelle free of charge with a prescription from your doctor.

You can get EllaOne free of charge, if it has been prescribed by your doctor or a pharmacist. If you are aged 18 or over, you can access EllaOne from pharmacies without a prescription but you will be charged up to £35.

You may also be able to prevent pregnancy, if you wish to, by having an IUD (intrauterine device) fitted up to five days after unprotected sex. This is sometimes called a ‘coil’.  You need to see your GP or go to sexual health clinic for this.

 

Source: centralsexualhealth.org