Situations when you need to take pills to avoid getting pregnant often happen in the lives of women. Unprotected sexual intercourse due to casual sex, rape, or a broken condom can lead to unwanted pregnancy. To prevent conception at home, there are emergency contraceptives that can be easily purchased without a prescription at any pharmacy. These drugs are highly effective and easy to use.

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Effect of emergency contraceptives

Medicines that inhibit ovulation and help prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex are called emergency contraception. Their name already suggests that they are intended for exceptional cases and cannot serve as a permanent contraceptive.

The mechanism of action of such medications is carried out in two directions:

1. 1. The active substance in the product prevents the egg from leaving the ovary. Spermatozoa that find themselves in the uterine cavity die after some time, and fertilization does not occur.
2. 2. The medicine makes the mucus in the cervix thicker, which prevents sperm from entering the organ.

Dual action makes oral contraceptives for immediate use effective in preventing conception and allows their use in all cases where there is a risk of unwanted pregnancy.

The active component of these drugs is levonorgestrel or mifepristone.

Admission deadlines

To achieve maximum effectiveness, a drug with levonorgestrel or mifepristone must be used as soon as possible after unprotected sexual intercourse. If it was not possible to take an emergency contraceptive within three days, its further use is unjustified.

If a fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus, these medications are useless - they do not have an abortifacient effect.

The best result of the contraceptive is possible when it enters the body during the first 24 hours after sexual intercourse (95%). Over the next 48 hours, the effectiveness decreases to 85%; over another 72 hours, the effectiveness decreases to 60%. DrinkEmergency contraceptive pills can be taken at any time of the day, regardless of meals.

Emergency contraceptives are not safe medications: their use more than 3 times throughout the year leads to hormonal imbalance in the body, menstrual cycle disruptions, and infertility. For continuous use, women who have regular sexual intercourse must use combined oral contraceptives or use barrier methods.



Medicines based on levonorgestrel

Drugs that are very popular among women are drugs based on levonorgestrel (synthetic progestogen) - Postinor and Escapelle.



Postinor

Postinor is available in a package containing two tablets, one of which is taken no later than 3 days after unprotected contact, the second - after 12 hours. The medicine is suitable for preventing unplanned pregnancy in the following situations:



• casual sexual contact;
• rape;
• missing the next pill of a combined contraceptive drug;
• condom breaking or slipping;
• displacement of the contraceptive cap or cervical diaphragm;
• release of spermicidal cream or suppository from the vagina.

Postinor can be used in any phase of the menstrual cycle. It is not recommended to use the product for repeated unprotected sexual intercourse during one monthly cycle due to the risk of uterine bleeding.

If pregnancy has already occurred, it is not advisable to take the drug.

The medication is prohibited for teenage girls; its use is justified only in cases of rape, after consultation with a gynecologist and a thorough medical examination.

Contraindications

Despite its high contraceptive effectiveness, Postinor has many disadvantages. It should not be used frequently to avoid failure of the ovaries and disruption of the monthly cycle.

One hundred percent effectiveness of administration is observed only in women with regular menstruation - with an unstable cycle, the effect is reduced, and pregnancy becomes possible. The effect of the drug is weakened by diseases of the digestive system, Crohn's disease, simultaneous use of tetracycline and ampicillin antibiotics, and PPIs.

Postinor should not be taken by women who have had hepatitis of any type, or who have acute and chronic pathologies of the liver and gall bladder. During lactation, feeding the baby while using the drug is stopped for at least 12 hours.

Escapelle



Escapelle is a modern analogue of Postinor. Levonorgestrel, the content of which in Escapelle is twice as high, allows you to reduce the risk of fertilization by taking just one tablet. You must drink it within 72 hours after sexual intercourse; maximum results are guaranteed within the first 24 hours.

If the drug enters the body when conception has already occurred, you do not have to worry about the condition of the fetus: levonorgestrel in the dose contained in the drug does not cause negative consequences for the development of the child and does not have an abortifacient effect.

To minimize the adverse effects of levonorgestrel, Escapelle can be used no more than once every 3-6 months.

Features of administration and side effects

Escapelle has the same contraindications as Postinor. The simultaneous use of both drugs is not allowed. If diarrhea or vomiting occurs within 3 hours after taking the tablet, the guarantee of no fertilization is reduced, so you must take an additional dose.

Side effects from levonorgestrel use can occur with both medications. They are:

• development of ectopic pregnancy;
• uterine bleeding;
• risk of infertility, especially if a young nulliparous girl takes levonorgestrel;
• risk of thrombosis.

Side effects develop infrequently and include headache, nausea, itchy skin rashes, breast swelling, and pain in the lower abdomen.



Mifepristone-based drugs

Emergency contraceptives based on mifepristone (Ginepristone, Zhenale) are highly effective in preventing unplanned pregnancy. To the two directions of the mechanism of action of levonorgestrel, these drugs add one more - they do not allow the fertilized egg to gain a foothold in the uterine cavity, that is, they have a slight abortive effect.

Taking the medicine is most effective in the first 72 hours after intimacy without the use of contraceptive methods. The required dose is one tablet.

Mifepristone is prohibited during pregnancy due to its negative effect on the fetus, therefore, if the drug does not work and conception occurs, a medical abortion is indicated. Breastfeeding after taking Zhenale or Ginepristone is stopped for two weeks.

The effectiveness of medications decreases with alcohol consumption. You must refrain from eating for two hours before and after taking the pill.

Some women use mifepristone-based products - Agesta, Miropriston, Mifeprex - as emergency contraception, thereby putting their health at significant risk. These drugs cannot be recommended for independent use, since they are intended for medical termination of pregnancy and are allowed only in a hospital setting under medical supervision.

Mifeprex is contraindicated in women over 35 years of age, especially those who smoke, have kidney and liver disease, infections and inflammation of the genital area, anemia, and uterine fibroids.

As soon as teenagers enter puberty, they become interested in the opposite sex. This is the best time to tell them in detail about existing methods of contraception. ? The answer to this question should be known not only to the girl, but also to the guy. If neither partner is yet ready to shoulder the burden of responsibility for the birth and upbringing of a new person, then it is important to go through a basic educational program.

There are quite a lot of opportunities to protect yourself today. These are hormonal pills, suppositories, intrauterine devices, and the use of condoms.

A condom is the most reliable barrier; it is placed on an erect penis and protects the mucous membranes of both partners. Young men are reluctant to use it, so often the responsibility for an unwanted pregnancy is shifted to the girl.

The girl can use chemical contraceptives. These are vaginal creams, suppositories and tampons. They are inserted into the vagina immediately before sexual intercourse. Reliability is about 75-80%. And this must be taken into account when choosing this product.

Modern mechanical contraceptives, which release hormones during use, are more reliable. They provide almost complete security. In Russia, two products are actively used: the NuvaRing ring and the Eva patch. The first contraceptive is designed for one cycle. The ring is removed from the vagina on the 22nd day, and a week later a new one is inserted. The patch is applied to any part of the body; one patch is valid for a week. You can use the patch in the first three weeks of the month; in the fourth week the body should rest. It will be impossible to make love during this time.

Another “female” alternative is hormonal pills. There are a large number of similar drugs on sale, but only a gynecologist can choose the optimal one, the one that can reliably protect against pregnancy.

Intrauterine devices and sterilization at such a young age are not considered at all.

"Folk Remedies"

Not all young people can make their desire public, go to a gynecologist or a pharmacy in order to buy one of the listed contraception options. Therefore, teenagers are mainly interested in reliable advice on how not to get pregnant without contraceptives. There are several of them, the most useful ones can be adopted and used every time after unprotected sexual intercourse.

1. ? Agree with your boyfriend, ask him to monitor the process and make sure that sperm does not get into the vagina. Any man can direct sperm past. But it is important to take into account that even before orgasm, a small amount of sperm along with lubricant still gets inside. Therefore, it is advisable to use the second tip along with this option.
2. Immediately after sexual intercourse, the girl urgently needs to go to the toilet and wash herself using any acidic liquid. It is best to use lemon juice diluted in water or highly diluted vinegar for this. If you don’t have any of this at hand, take urine into your palm, generously moisten two thumbs with it and insert it into the vagina. Such an action will stop the vital activity of sperm. This advice can be taken on board by all those who are looking for an answer to the question of how not to get pregnant for the first time if you have finished.
3. The easiest way is to learn to find safe days. In any girl’s menstrual cycle there is a period when the egg “sleeps”. Let's talk about this in more detail.

Safe days

Pay attention! It is possible to calculate safe days only with stable and regular periods, when the body works like a clock and the monthly cycle is always approximately the same. It is useful to keep a separate calendar and in it monthly mark the beginning of menstruation (the first day when discharge begins) and its end. The calendar will immediately show the longest cycle and the shortest. The starting point should be ovulation. It usually occurs 11 - 18 days after the start of menstruation (it’s different for everyone).

So how to calculate so as not to get pregnant? It is necessary to take the shortest cycle, let’s say it is 27 days, and subtract the number 11 from it (27-11=16). Then we take the longest menstrual cycle, let’s say it is 29 days, subtract the number 18 from it (29-18=11). It turns out that from the 11th to the 16th of each month inclusive is the most favorable time for conception. You cannot have sex during this period without full protection. If you don’t want to get pregnant, it’s better to abstain from sex altogether for this time. All other days before the 11th and after the 16th, using the methods listed above, you can protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy.

Basal temperature measurement

What should those who have irregular periods do, how to calculate “safe days” in this case, and how not to get pregnant after intercourse? Measure your basal temperature! This should be done immediately after waking up in the morning. A thermometer is inserted into the vagina and its readings are recorded daily. If the girl is healthy, the temperature will be approximately the same every day. But the day before ovulation begins, it will rise by 0.2-0.4 degrees. This will be the starting point for the above calculations.

How not to get pregnant without protection is asked by many women who have read myths about modern contraception or do not have sufficient knowledge in this area. What to do if you really don’t want to use protection at all - condoms are too tight, hormonal pills make you fat, intrauterine devices fall out, and spermicides cause a burning sensation? All that remains is to abstain from sexual relations or trust the so-called traditional methods of contraception.

Many people know how to avoid getting pregnant without using protection, calculating the most favorable days for conception and not having sex on these days. Calculating the approximate day of ovulation and the entire dangerous period is not difficult for those whose menstrual cycle is more or less stable, that is, it begins without delay. The rest, trusting the calendar, get pregnant very quickly. For reference: ovulation is the day when the egg is ready to merge with the sperm; even in young women, ovulation does not occur every menstrual cycle, its duration is no more than 48 hours, and its onset is approximately the middle of the cycle. There are other ways to determine dangerous days, for example, measuring basal temperature. But the calculations may be incorrect, which is why modern doctors have not recommended this method of “contraception” to women for a long time.

Is it possible to get pregnant if you do not protect yourself with “pharmacy” contraceptives, but practice interrupted sexual intercourse for these purposes? So much has been written about this both in printed publications and in online articles, but still people, and not only inexperienced young people, continue to practice this not very pleasant “contraception”. Its meaning is that ejaculation does not occur in the vagina, and therefore many are sure that pregnancy is impossible. Let’s not take into account the fact that you may “not be in time” and the fact that such a concentration of attention has a strong negative impact on the pleasure of the process, but conception is possible even in the most favorable, it would seem, conditions. According to various estimates, the effectiveness of PPA is no more than 60 percent. That is, every second person is “unlucky”. The fact is that sperm are released not only during ejaculation, but also during sexual intercourse, albeit in small quantities. But they are quite enough to get pregnant.

The 2 methods described above can somehow be perceived as contraception in a situation where there is no condom or spermicide at hand. The ones we will briefly describe below are simply stupid.

So, the first dubious technique is to make love while standing. Why standing? But because in this position sperm flows out of the vagina faster. But those who came up with this method, apparently, do not suspect that not all of it flows out...

Another method is to douche after sexual intercourse with water, preferably with the addition of acetic or citric acid. This may somewhat reduce the likelihood of pregnancy without protection, but will most likely lead to problems such as irritation or burns of the vaginal mucosa.

The third method is even more absurd. There are people who answer the question “how not to get pregnant without using protection” - to urinate after sexual intercourse. Lack of education also plays a role here. This recommendation does exist, but it is only addressed to those who are afraid of contracting sexually transmitted infections, and it is more effective for men than for women, due to the special structure of the urinary canal in men.

Not all girls have protected sex. Modern contraceptives are not very convenient to use. They can be expensive and are not sold everywhere. Therefore, it is worth understanding how not to get pregnant after an unprotected act. There are quite a few methods in this regard. But all of them are not very effective. Although, in combination you can significantly reduce the risk of pregnancy.

A sure way to avoid getting pregnant after unprotected sex

The surest way in this regard is interrupted sexual intercourse. At the end of the act, the penis is simply removed from the vagina. Sperm doesn't get inside and you may not get pregnant.

But at the same time, a man’s orgasm must occur entirely externally. If he pulls out late, you will quickly become a mother.

Also, after such sex, you and your partner should take a shower. Sperm remains active for a long time. It may accidentally enter the vagina.

In this case, it is better to have 1 sexual intercourse. If you start having sex again, the risk of pregnancy increases markedly. After all, the sperm remains a little, both outside and inside the penis. And this is very dangerous.

How to avoid getting pregnant through dangerous sex at home

Traditional medicine speaks of douching in this regard. You can wash your vagina with a lemon juice solution. But science is against this method. You may not only not protect yourself from pregnancy, but also damage the mucous membrane of the genital organs.

Some people say that sex in water is less dangerous. Sperm is washed away with water, loses its properties and cannot fulfill its purpose, But this is also a controversial theory.

Another type of protection is overheating the male genitals. It is believed that if the scrotum overheats to 38 degrees, then sperm activity drops sharply. Therefore, sex in a sauna is the least dangerous. Although here everything is not 100%.

Sex position has an even greater influence. So, if a girl is in a position on top, then the sperm does not get into the vagina well. And if you take a shower and douche immediately after sexual intercourse, you can avoid pregnancy.

Emergency contraception

If you have sex and sperm gets inside, you should consider emergency contraception. There are special medications on sale that terminate pregnancies in very early stages. It is better to take them in the first 3 days after the act. But you can use them in the first couple of weeks.

As a rule, these are hormonal substances that negatively affect health. They can trigger premature periods and cause discomfort. But their action is flawless. Just before using such tablets, it is better to consult a doctor. Otherwise, you risk buying the wrong thing and exposing yourself to great risk.

Remember, this event is not an abortion. And the sooner you do this, the easier it will be for you to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy.

Which is better to choose?

If you have unprotected sex, then it is easier not to get pregnant by practicing coitus interruptus. Of course, this is not a panacea. But the risk of pregnancy is reduced significantly.

If sperm gets into the vagina, then the situation becomes dramatically more complicated. In this case, it is worth trying emergency contraception.

Remember that all folk and girlish methods of dealing with pregnancy may be ineffective and dangerous. And if you practice special sex positions, make love in water or a bathhouse, then all this is at your own peril and risk. After all, here the probability of pregnancy is almost one hundred percent.

In general, it is better to always take birth control pills. See your doctor. Let him prescribe you a course of these drugs. Consume them and be completely protected. This is an excellent solution for those who have regular sex life.

How not to get pregnant? Nine ways.

Every woman should give birth to a child. This is the law of nature, but why do modern people try to deceive nature? Some already have a child and cannot support two or three children. Some girls just want to live for themselves and not shy away from men. It was for them that I wrote nine ways not to get pregnant.

There are several most popular ways to avoid getting pregnant. In this article I will talk about only nine ways.

If we are talking about how not to get pregnant, then this means we are talking about how to have sex as often as possible and not be at all afraid that one day your pregnancy test will be positive. There are now a lot of contraceptives in pharmacies. The choice is large - from candles and tablets, to special rings and spirals. Which one is better to choose? In this article I will review the most popular methods that all women use, and your choice will be justified.

1) Condoms

Advice for men. If you want your evening with the lady to be a success, stock up on condoms in advance. If you think that they can put you in an awkward position, then you are mistaken. Rather, their absence can play a cruel joke on you. No wonder there is a saying: “One awkward move and you are a father.” Not using condoms can lead to pregnancy. The exception is to have sex on strictly defined days. So-called safe days. Read about them in paragraph 3.
But what if you miscalculate? Do you know what will happen then?

2) Intrauterine devices. (Navy)

An intrauterine device is a device that is inserted in a antenatal clinic by a Gynecologist. They are copper-containing and hormone-releasing.
Most often, the spiral is used after childbirth. The spiral does not affect breastfeeding and effectively copes with its task. 4 weeks after birth, you can already use IUDs that contain copper. And IUDs that release hormones can be used after 6 weeks. This is one of the most convenient methods to protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy. The IUD can be used for more than 5 years.

3) Day calendar

To reduce the risk of getting pregnant, you can create a calendar to have sex on strictly designated days. Basically, women who are literate in this matter do this: if the cycle is more than twenty-eight days, then you need to count ten days from the first day of your period. These will be the safest days.
Next, count another 10 days. They will be dangerous. As a rule, there are 3 days - which you should definitely know. These days are considered the most dangerous. There are only 3 of these days. With a 28-day cycle, these are 12, 13, 14 days. Having sex these days without protective measures, you should know that the risk of getting pregnant increases significantly.

4) Don't have sex

The surest way not to get pregnant is to not have sex at all. There is no risk. There is no need to take pills, insert rings, use intrauterine devices and count dangerous days. But can you do without it?

5) Sex with clothes on

By the way, the most popular type of sex is sex without intercourse. So-called sex with clothes on. Many women are also very aroused by this type of sex.

6) Coitus interruptus

It’s difficult - I’ll tell you right away. Because not every man can do this. I do not recommend using this method for those who are not confident in their capabilities.

7) Hormonal pills

Hormonal drugs help protect yourself because they have synthetic analogues of female sex hormones. The tablets are recommended to be taken before pregnancy or after 6 months after childbirth.

8) Candles

Vaginal suppositories are most effective when used correctly. But they have contraindications. Consult your doctor before using them.

9) The drug “postinor”. It can be used no later than 5 hours after unprotected intercourse.