Can you take the morning after pill while taking contraceptives?

The morning after pill in a emergency contraceptive method which is used either when we have had unprotected sexual relations or when the treatments we regularly use to prevent an unwanted pregnancy have not been effective or we have not used them correctly. As its name indicates, the postcoital pill It is not a contraceptive that can be used as a regular treatment since, in addition to not preventing pregnancy over time, it can also cause some negative consequences on our health due to its strong hormonal load. Here we talk more about the Side Effects of the morning after pill.

Generally, the morning after pill is composed of a synthetic hormone known as levonorgestrel (although there are also other types composed of ulipristal acetate), which considerably reduces the probability of pregnancy since it has the following main functions:

It delays the fertilization process of the sperm that have entered the vagina. If the egg has already detached from the ovaries, the postcoital pill will produce a much thicker cervical mucus to hinder the passage of the sperm. If the sperm have managed to fertilize the egg, the pill will cause said egg not to attach to the walls of the uterus, so it will end up expelled by the body itself.

For the emergency pill to fulfill these functions, it will be essential that it be consumed as soon as possible. In fact, if taken during the first 24 hours will be 94% effective approximately. However, after 24 hours to 72 hours later, the effectiveness of this contraceptive will be from 85% to 58%. Learn more about how the morning after pill works in this other post.

As we have already mentioned in the previous section, the morning after pill is considered an emergency contraceptive treatment, that is, it can only be used in specific cases to reduce the chances of an unwanted pregnancy. But what are these cases? Next, we explain In what types of situations can the morning after pill be used?:

If you have had sexual relations without any type of protection: however, it is recommended that you start using a contraceptive such as a condom since the emergency pill cannot be used regularly and does not protect you against sexually transmitted diseases. If you use a Diaphragm and Placed Incorrectly: Although unlikely, it is possible for a diaphragm to break or be placed incorrectly. If so, it is important that you take the emergency pill. If you used the condom incorrectly: if the condom broke or was incorrectly placed during sexual intercourse, it is likely that you could get pregnant. It can also happen if the condom was expired or previously used. If the IUD came out accidentally: Sometimes it can happen that an IUD can come out of place due to incorrect placement. If this is your case and you have had sexual relations, it is recommended to use the postcoital pill to prevent pregnancy.

In this other unCOMO article we talk to you in more depth about When to take the morning after pill.

In addition to the previous cases where taking this emergency method is justified, some people wonder if they can take the morning after pill if taking hormonal contraceptiveslike the contraceptive pills monthly. The answer is that YES, you can take in case you have forgotten to take the contraceptive pill. However, this emergency method can only be used if the following requirements are met:

If more than 12 hours have passed since the time you had to take the contraceptive pill. However, if you are still between 1 and 12 hours later, you will only have to take the monthly contraceptive pill that was due to you to be protected against pregnancy. If you have forgotten one or more pills from the first week of taking, then If you have forgotten some of these pills and, in addition, you have had unprotected sexual relations during the 7 days after the forgotten pill, it is advisable to take the emergency pill as soon as possible to avoid an unwanted or unwanted pregnancy.

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