PREVENT UNPLANNED PREGNANCY

  

Q Dear doctor, how many cycles are affected taking an emergency contraceptive pill? I am planning to take one and want to know this beforehand.

Ans: If you are planning for intercourse then why not use a regular contraceptive option like condom or regular pill? Emergency contraceptive pills should be consumed only in emergency cases when regular contraception fails. Finally, each woman reacts differently to hormonal pills, some of them do not have their cycles affected too. There is no fixed number of cycles that will get affected by emergency contraceptive pills.

Q. Dear doctor, from the time I have started working, my period cycle has gone haywire. I am 22  years old and had my last period in November. What should I do? I live alone in the city and do not know anyone.

Ans: A drastic change in environment and lifestyle is one major reason why many women complain of a disturbed cycle. You can resolve this issue by consulting a local doctor and seeking appropriate treatment.

Q Dear doctor, are there any ways to determine that an emergency contraceptive pill has worked or failed. Waiting for periods is very difficult and every day I feel scared that what it  I conceive?

Ans: Many women undergo this distress of pregnancy scare until they get their periods. But in reality, this is the only way to find out whether the pill has worked or not. There are no other tests that could prove the pill was successful in avoiding pregnancy or not. If you have consumed the emergency contraceptive pill as per directions given on the pack, then your chances of pregnancy are low. We request you to have patience and wait until your expected period date. In case you do not get your periods 10 days after your expected date, do a pregnancy test just to cross check.

Q Dear doctor, While making out with my wife, I was not sure whether I ejaculated inside or outside so I asked her to take an emergency contraceptive pill. Is it safe for her to take the pill if ejaculation was not done inside? Will the pill cause any serious side effects in such case?

Ans: Sometimes it does happen that you are not sure about ejaculation and whether she is safe or not. Hence, it does become important that you take relevant precautionary measures. You did the correct thing by asking your wife to take an emergency contraceptive pill. Even if you did not ejaculate inside her, the pill would still work normally as it would do in case of an unprotected sex. Since, these pills are synthetic versions of female hormone progesterone, they do not cause any serious or lasting side effect on the body. As the name suggests emergency contraceptive pills should only be used in the event of an emergency such as contraceptive failure. We strongly recommend that if you are not planning for a baby in near future, then consult a local gynecologist and understand about regular contraceptive options. Choose one that would suit you and your wife the best.

Q. Dear doctor, I am 43 years old and my menses have become slightly irregular from last few months. My husband and I have intercourse very rarely these days and when we have, it is unprotected. Can I use emergency contraceptive pill? Is it safe to consume at my age?

Ans: Emergency contraceptive pills are safe for women of all menstruating ages. Please do not think that it is unsafe for you due to your age. In fact, it is very crucial for you at this stage to use contraception as  in this stage before menopause, when periods are irregular, ovulation may happen at erratic times. This makes you more susceptible to unplanned pregnancy and therefore unprotected sex even more risky. Hence, you must indulge in protected sex.

Q Dear doctor, can you please suggest any home remedies for preventing pregnancy or tell best days to have intercourse to avoid pregnancy.

Ans: In Indian households, home remedies are used to cure common ailments. Pregnancy is not a common ailment and hence there are no home remedies to prevent it. You must use regular contraceptive like condom, regular birth control pills, intra-uterine devices etc. to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Counting or predicting safe days is also not a reliable and effective method to avoid pregnancy and hence it is better to avoid it. Please consult a gynecologist and understand more about regular contraceptive options.

Q Dear doctor ,my husband saw a split in the condom and asked me to take an emergency contraceptive pill as we do not plan for a baby as of now. Since this is the first time I have taken such a pill, I am not very confident. Does it have severe side effects? Will I be able to become pregnant later? Will anyone come to know I have taken this pill? Please guide me.

Ans:  emergency contraceptive pill is a back-up method that many women rely on in events like a condom tear. Being a first time user, your apprehension is understandable. You may feel nauseous, or experience an abdominal pain, have irregular spotting between periods after consuming the pill, are not known to have lasting effects on the body that may interfere with future  pregnancies. It was wise on your part to take an emergency contraceptive pill in this case, as you did not wish to get pregnant.

Q Dear doctor, can you please tell me what is the best contraceptive method I can use, after the delivery of my first baby. I was using oral pills but now I do not wish to continue them anyone.

Ans: There are several options such as condoms, vaginal rings/spermicidal jellies, IUDs that can be used in place of regular contraceptive pills. Some of these may require doctor intervention eg: IUDs Each of these methods has its own pros and cons. You can consult your gynecologist for more details on this as well as other methods.

Q Dear doctor, can an emergency contraceptive pill lead to excessive hair fall? I happened to take an ECP last year, at least 8 months and since the beginning of this month I am suffering from hair fall.  Is it due to the pill or some other reason?

Ans: Emergency contraceptive pills are not known to have any impact on hair or cause hair fall. There could be other reason behind this. Also for an ECP pills do not have long term effects on your body. A single dose of ECP taken 6 months ago will definitely not cause any physiological changes today. Please consult a local dermatologist and understand the reason behind the hair fall.

Q Dear doctor, my husband and I had unprotected sex few weeks back and now  I am developing cold feet. What if I get pregnant? Can taking an emergency contraceptive pill now help me avoid pregnancy? Will it successfully terminate the pregnancy?

Ans: Please understand that emergency contraceptive pills do not cause pregnancy termination. It is only effective in avoiding pregnancy if consumed within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. Many people have this myth that ECP also acts as  an abortion or pregnancy termination pill, which is wrong. I suggest you patiently wait for your next period and in case it is delayed beyond a week, conduct a pregnancy test or consult a gynecologist.

Q Hello doctor, I want to know after stopping my regular pills, when we can start planning for pregnancy. How much time does it take for any woman to conceive after discontinuing pills?

Ans: As each woman is different, so is her cycle. It is not easy to estimate how much time it takes exactly for any woman to conceive. Once you stop your pills, your menstrual cycle may fluctuate. We suggest you should wait till your cycle normalize. By keeping a track of your cycle length, you can plan your intercourse around your ovulation days to increase chances of pregnancy. You may successfully conceive within a couple of months or take longer than you expect. Don’t get disheartened and keep trying.  We recommend that you visit your gynecologist to get more detailed information.

Q Dear doctor, I will be getting married soon and want to know that when there is an emergency like the condom tears or we have unprotected intercourse, what pill should I take, emergency pill or regular pill as both are contraceptive pills. Please clear my confusion.

Ans: Although both are contraceptive pills, there is a difference between both pills. Regular oral contraceptive pills are low dose hormone pills. Which are supposed to be taken daily in order to avoid pregnancy. If you are on a regular contraceptive pill regimen, then intercourse is considered as protected or safe intercourse. In this situation you should not consume an ECP.

Q Dear doctor, I had to consume an emergency contraceptive pill last month and I did not feel side effects as mentioned on the pack. Also I got my periods bang on time. Does this mean the pill did not work? Am I still at the risk of getting pregnant?

Ans: The symptoms mentioned on the pack are only to make the couples aware that there is a possibility of such an event occurring. It is not necessary that every woman must experience one or the other symptom. It is absolutely normal if you do not feel anything. If you consumed the pill within 72 hours and have got your period on time, your chances of pregnancy are extremely low.

Q Dear doctor, I am on contraceptive injections from the last 2 years and now we want to start a family. Can you tell me from when start planning after discontinue with the injections.

Ans: As contraceptive injections are as long term contraceptive  method, it takes some time after the last injection to become fertile again. You must wait till you get your period after discontinuing the injection. This could take some time and this delays is not related to the length of time you have been using this  method of contraceptive. We also recommend that you consult a doctor and get more details.

Q Dear doctor, my wife is 42 years old and still menstruating. What are the chances of pregnancy at this age and is it ok if she consumes an emergency contraceptive pill if we have an unprotected intercourse?

Ans: At the age of 42, chances of pregnancy are low but not nil. You must use precaution because if your wife is still menstruating that means she is still producing an egg which can potentially get fertilized during unprotected intercourse. Emergency contraceptive pills are safe for almost all women of menstruating ages. Please do remember that emergency contraceptive pills should be consumed only in emergency cases, when regular contraceptive fails.

Q Dear doctor, I had consumed an emergency contraceptive pill before 3 months with few days. Since then I had my periods twice normally and I did not have intercourse too as my partner had gone for work abroad. This month, my periods still haven’t arrived. Do you think that I could be pregnant? Or is this the effect of emergency pill?

Ans: A delay of few days in periods is normal and one should not worry about it. Since you already had periods twice, and you have not had intercourse in the interim period, the possibility of a pregnancy is negligible. The effect of emergency contraceptive pills does not be the reason of period cycle disruption after few months. However, If periods are delayed for over 10 days from the expected date, it is advisable to identify the correct reason for delay.

Q Dear doctor, I am 32 years old and taking regular contraceptive pills. I want to know whether they are safe it taken for a long period of time. I have been taking these pills. I have been taking pills from the last 8 years continuously. Is there any other safer method of long term contraception that can be used?

Ans: Regular contraceptive pills are highly advanced and safe these days. If you have been taking these pills for a long time without any problem, then you can continue them. But if you feel that you want to stop or have other concerns, then you can consult your gynecologist. There are other non-permanent, long term contraceptive options available like intra-uterine devices like copper T or contraceptive injections.

Q Dear doctor, please help me, I am extremely worried. My partner has not faced any side effect after taking an emergency contraceptive pill well within time.If the pill has failed, then by what other means can we avoid pregnancy? Please helps us, we cannot have a baby right now.

Ans: Please relax. An absence of side-effect after consuming emergency contraceptive pill does not indicate that the pill has failed to prevent pregnancy. Kindly wait for your partner’s periods to begin, as only commencement of periods on or around expected date confirms that pregnancy has been avoided. Since she has consumed the pill well within 72 hours, the possibility of pregnancy is minimal. We would also like to mention that the only methods, by which pregnancy can be avoided after the 72 hour period, is by a gynecologist. In case her periods are delayed for more than 10 days from the expected date, then kindly consult a gynecologist for further advice.