Can the morning after pill make you sterile?

The morning after pill is a contraceptive treatment that is used only in emergency cases to reduce an unwanted pregnancy, that is, when no protective measures were used during sexual intercourse or when they were used but incorrectly. This contraceptive method is hormonal, that is, they are pills containing hormonesmainly a secretion known as levonorgestrel, which is a steroid that works in the same way as progesterone (a hormone that usually makes up birth control pills).

The emergency pill is a single-dose treatment that prevents fertilization of the egg by sperm after risky sexual intercourse. Its effectiveness is approximately 94%, although it will depend on 2 main factors: on the one hand, the time that passes from the risk relationship until taking the pill (it can only be taken up to 72 hours later) and on the other hand , how close you are to your ovulation phase (the closer, the more likely you are to become pregnant).

What happens if you take the morning after pill 3 times a year

It is not recommended that the morning after pill be taken more than 2 times a year, otherwise it can create major mood swings and other hormonal alterations. Of course, only for a while. In fact, it is not recommended under any circumstances to use this method as a regular treatment. The morning after pill is It is advisable to use it only in the following cases:

When you have had sexual relations without any type of protection, especially if you are in the ovulation phase or a few days before this date. When the contraceptive method you used was expired or has failed during sexual relations. When you have had sexual relations in against your will.

For more information, you can read this other article on How the morning after pill works.

It is normal that before using this type of oral contraceptives you may have some doubts or questions, such as: can the morning after pill make you sterile?

The answer is no, it has not been proven that the morning-after pill can cause infertility problems in the woman who decides to take them. However, this hormonal treatment can have other negative effects on health, such as raising blood pressure or cholesterol levels. Nor is it a method that protects us from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), so we will be unprotected under these circumstances.

For this reason, it is important that we never use the emergency pill as a regular contraceptive and that its consumption is in very specific cases, such as those we have explained in the previous section. In fact, according to specialists, the morning after pill should not be taken more than 2 times a year.

What happens if you take the morning after pill too many times?

If you take the morning-after pill too frequently, you will be increasing the risk of suffering from these conditions and diseases:

Blood clotting problemsPulmonary embolismDeep vein thrombosisInfarcts or cardiovascular accidentsStroke

You may also be interested in How to take the emergency pill.

Next, we will tell you the side effects and contraindications of the morning-after pill.

Side effects of the morning after pill

As we said in previous sections, the morning after pill is a treatment with a strong hormonal load, so its intake can cause the following side effects:

Dizziness Nausea and vomiting (if vomiting occurs within 3 hours of taking it, you will have to take the emergency pill again) Headache Cramps in the lower abdomen Fatigue Chest tenderness Irregular menstrual periods or heavier bleeding Bleeding between menstrual cycles

Contraindications of the morning after pill

In addition, the morning after pill It is not a method suitable for everyone.. It is not recommended that you take it under the following cases:

Liver failureBreast cancerVenous thrombosisEctopic pregnancies in the pastInflammation of the fallopian tubesSevere migrainesUlcerative colitisHeart problems

Now that you know that the morning after pill does not cause infertility, you may also be interested in this other unCOMO article about Can I have intercourse after taking the morning after pill?

If you want to read more articles similar to Can the morning after pill make you sterile?we recommend that you enter our Sentimental Relationships category.