This "next generation" of emergency contraception reduces the risk of pregnancy by 89% after intercourse. Plan B is therefore an important safety net for women who had unprotected sex within the last 72 hours, especially if their contraceptive method failed or because they used no contraception.

Experts agree, however, that like all emergency contraception, Plan B is no substitute for correct use of regular contraception since it is less effective and does not protect against sexually transmitted infections including HIV.

For more information on Plan B, visit their website at www.go2planB.com. For current information on emergency contraception in general, visit the website: ec.princeton.edu/ or call the Emergency Contraception Hotline at 1-888-NOT-2-LATE. The hotline is available in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day.

Want more information about emergency contraception? You'll find lots here in this month's ReCAPP edition. Look for:

What is Emergency Contraception?
While effective school health curricula play an important part in teen pregnancy prevention, the availability of safe and effective contraceptive methods is key to preventing pregnancy among sexually active young people. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study (1997), however, most American women are not even aware of a contraceptive method that can reduce the risk of pregnancy even 72 hours after sex has occurred.

Emergency contraception, sometimes known as the "morning after pill," is a method of birth control which has been used for decades to prevent unintended pregnancy but is not generally taught by teachers or health educators. While this method is considered safe and effective by almost all medical practitioners, its history of off-label usage has kept it in the shadows of general public acceptability and understood by only a fraction, about 11%, of reproductive age women, (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1997).

Health educators and medical care providers should routinely teach emergency contraception as a back-up method along with other contraceptive methods that are used prior to sexual intercourse. Many educators and providers believe emergency contraception should be prescribed "in advance" for women in the event of an emergency. Such emergencies include: when a condom slips, leaks, or breaks, when a diaphragm or cervical cap slips out of place, when one or more daily contraceptive pills have been missed, or when no contraception was used at all. Emergency contraception has frequently been recommended in cases of sexual assault.

The most prescribed form of emergency contraception are pills commonly used as oral contraceptives taken in a higher than usual dose. These pills must be started within 3 days (72 hours) of unprotected sex to be most effective. They work in the same ways that regular birth control pills work to prevent pregnancy: by stopping the egg from being released or by changing the lining of the uterus so an egg can't attach and grow. If a woman is already pregnant by the time she takes emergency contraceptive pills, the pregnancy is not interrupted and the baby is not harmed.

This method of preventing unintended pregnancy should be as well known as other methods and presented as an option for women to consider if they want to avoid becoming pregnant.

Potential Impact of this Approach
Approximately 3 million unintended pregnancies occur annually in the U.S. By promoting awareness about emergency contraception among the general public, and making it widely available through medical settings, it's estimated that we could reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, and the number of abortions performed, by almost half.

Information about emergency contraception must become more widespread if the number of unintended pregnancies is to be reduced. School health educators can impact the problem by becoming educated themselves, requesting information to help educate teens through resources listed further on in this article, or by phoning their local family planning clinics or health departments. Health educators may also choose to educate families, parents of teens and other adults who are equally interested in reducing the risk of pregnancy and the need for abortion.

Emergency contraception is also cost-effective. It helps reduce medical care costs associated with pregnancy, birth, and spontaneous or induced abortion. For example, in a managed care setting, a single use of emergency contraceptive pills saves $142 in pregnancy care costs. Providing emergency contraceptive pills in advance to women using barrier contraceptives, spermicides, withdrawal or periodic abstinence results in annual cost savings from $263 to $498 (Trussell, Ellertson, Stewart, 1998).

Besides these social and medical costs, there are considerable emotional costs paid by women who fear an unwanted pregnancy. While millions of women each year experience gut-wrenching fear and anxiety over a broken condom, missed birth control pills, or unprotected sex, only a small percentage know about this contraceptive method which could give these women a second chance to prevent an unintended pregnancy.

Resources for Further Information

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