Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    The morning after pill effective the night before, says report

    (Getty Images)(Getty Images)
    Birth control breakthrough: the morning-after pill may be worth taking the night before. A new report from the journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, suggests that the one-time hormone pill is safe and effective at preventing pregnancies when taken just before sex. While it's not as sure-fire as a once-daily pill or patch, it was found to be 11 percent more effective than condoms at preventing pregnancy over a one-year period.

    The morning-after pill, sold as Plan B One-Step or First Choice, is not abortive but preventative like daily birth control pills. It contains a high dose of levonorgestrel, a synthetic hormone that stops ovulation. Technically, the FDA approved pill is designed to be taken one time within 72 hours after sex. But the report, which looked at 15 studies of over 8,400 women, focuses on the off-label use of the pill. Most women in the studies split the pill in half and took it around the time they were planning to be intimate. Twenty-two percent experienced irregular bleeding, a side effect most subjects didn't seem to mind.

    What this could mean is more choices in birth control for women. For those who don't want to take a pill everyday, but want protect against the chance of a condom breaking, the Plan B could become Plan A. But doctors stress more long-term research needs to be done. Considering much smaller daily doses of hormones put some women at risk for blood clots, the morning-after pill comes with risks. But this research suggests it may also come with greater peace of mind.

    Related:
    Who gave you the best birth control advice?
    The future of birth control
    Birth control as domestic abuse
    Plan B to become available to minors?

     

    17 comments

    • Runa  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Well, for once I agree with Gearheardt. While you may not be able to decide that you will have a one-night stand, you can certainly decide that you won't. Also, if sex with people who won't support you if the condom breaks is something you're into, then you should probably be taking the once-daily pill or have an IUD--something much more secure than the pre-coital plan-B method. Oh, and you should probably make sure that you're capable of handling an unplanned pregnancy on your own in case your methods fail. My own advice to people is that you have no business having sex unless you have a practical, doable plan for what you're going to do if things go wrong. I know my guy and I discussed this to the ground before we had sex, both what we'd do before the critical twelve-week mark and what we'd do if abortion were no longer an option. We're going to discuss it to the ground again when we finish school.
    • Swan  •  1 year 2 months ago
      So many "experts" on how a baby is conceived....yet, so many "unwanted" pregnancies....sad....
    • Owlish  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Hello Obvious-ville! If you can take it within 72 hours of having unprotected sex, the OBVIOUSLY you can take it right before and have it be just as effective.
    • Nita  •  1 year 2 months ago
      I disagree Gearhardt.
      You can go out not expecting a one night stand and have one anyway without pre-planning it. But It should always be protected sex, what single person doesn't have emergency condoms?
      And being promiscuous has nothing to do with anything (if the sex is protected) you may as well take that word out of your vocab unless your trying to ruin other peoples fun by trying to bring shame to sex.
    • Mandie  •  1 year 2 months ago
      well how am i suppose to know when ill have a one night stand or unprotected sex. usually these things are not planned.
    • Nicole  •  1 year 2 months ago
      ugh, emergency contraceptives should be used for just that. If the condom breaks plan B is appropriate. Why would someone want to use this as regular birth control? I just don't get it, be smart use protection always. Just remember plan B deos not protect against STD's, use a condom people it's not that difficult!
    • Nunya  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Eryn_Lindsay,

      That's not entirely true. What you said about ovulation and fertilization is true but conception can still occur but implantation is stopped by making the environment in the uterine wall inhospitable. That's just fine by me, though.

      Blegh, why would you take Plan B instead of birth control if you're using it as a preventative measure? It can make you feel so extremely nauseous, it's miserable. Best to stick to the good ol' pill.
    • TexasSmarty  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Plan B's site says it is not effective or safe to use as regular method of birth control. Also, if you are willing to use a pill form of birth control why not just take the pill? Plan B is not cheap. It makes more sense and is safer to just take the pill.
    • Eryn_Lindsay  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Anacrusis...that is false information. Plan B keeps you from ovulating if you havent yet, or keeps the sperm from fertilizing the egg. If it is already fertilized, it wont affect the zygote at all.
    • Khilasa  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Milk, you can get Plan B for free under some health plans. Some don't even require you to get a prescription. You just walk up to the pharmacy window of your clinic and ask.

      It's only expensive if you don't have health insurance to begin with. And then it's around $25 from Planned Parenthood.
    • Milk  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Isn't plan B a little expensive to use as a regular form of birth control?
    • anacrusis  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Then it won't be Plan B anymore, it'll be Plan A, so to speak. See how something that was for "emergencies" goes to being used regularly?

      Oh, and if you think it's not abortive, you don't understand how it works. It can keep the already formed zygote from attaching to the uterine wall. The idea that that is when pregnancy begins is a semantic issue.
    • jd2009  •  1 year 2 months ago
      All the pro-lifers need to chill out. Obviously no one with a reasonable mind will take Plan B everyday. And if someone is crazy enough to, then they shouldn't be repopulating the earth to begin with.
      Besides, Plan B gives most people belly aches. No one would take it everyday.
    • Y! Shine Staff Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior ...  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Anacrusis: The egg is fertilized in the fallopian tubes, not in the uterus; after fertilization takes place it takes three to four full days for the zygote to travel down the fallopian tubes and into the uterus, cells dividing all the while. By the time it reaches the uterus, it's made up of 16 to 50 cells, is covered in a protective coating, and is called a blastocyst. It doesn't implant into the uterine lining until 8 to 10 days after fertilization. In theory, it *could* prevent implantation, but since a woman takes the Plan B pill within 3 days of having intercourse (72 hours), and the blastocyst implants 8 to 10 days after intercourse, just because it *could* doesn't mean that it *does.*

      What it does do is stop ovulation or, if ovulation has already occurred, it stops fertilization. If the blastocyst has already implanted -- say, you actually conceived a few days before you took Plan B -- it will not affect the existing pregnancy.

      Info from: http://www.enotes.com/nursing-encyclopedia/fetal-development
      and: http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/postmarketdrugsafetyinformationforpatientsandproviders/ucm109795.htm
    • Ron Williams  •  1 year 2 months ago
      im a man 71yrs old why would i take birth control pills if i get preg. im rich
    • Matchcupid  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Key Name: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla
      Class Name:
      Last Write Time: 11/9/2009 - 5:47 PM

      Key Name: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox
      Class Name:
      Last Write Time: 11/9/2009 - 5:47 PM

      Key Name: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\Extensions
      Class Name:
      Last Write Time: 3/9/2011 - 8:32 PM
      Value 0
      Name: {BBDA0591-3099-440a-AA10-41764D9DB4DB}
      Type: REG_SZ
      Data: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Norton\{0C55C096-0F1D-4F28-AAA2-85EF591126E7}\NIS_17.0.0.136\IPSFFPlgn\

      Value 1
      Name: {2D3F3651-74B9-4795-BDEC-6DA2F431CB62}
      Type: REG_SZ
      Data: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Norton\{0C55C096-0F1D-4F28-AAA2-85EF591126E7}\NIS_17.0.0.136\coFFPlgn\

      Value 2
      Name: jqs@sun.com
      Type: REG_EXPAND_SZ
      Data: C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\lib\deploy\jqs\ff
    • Li Yun  •  1 year 2 months ago
      Hi,Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, === http://www.bingstore.us ==== Here are the most

      popular, most stylish and avant-garde

      shoes,handbags,Tshirts, jacket,Tracksuit w

      ect…NIKE ,50%off ca,ed hardy t-shirt$15 jeans,coach handbag$33,air max90,dunk,polo t-shirt$13,,lacoste t-shirt $13 air jordan for sale,$35,nfl nba jersy for sale

      puma gucci$35,nike jordans six ring,yeezy$%5!!

      new era caps$13 gucci handbags jeans,t-shirts sunglass,caps

      true religion jeans$35,ca,ed hardy jeans$35

      LV,CHANAL,HANDBAGS$35

      NIKE SHOX+AIR MAX+TL3+OZ+NZ ONLY $35

      UGG TIMBLAND+LACOSTE SHOES+ED HARDY SHOES$35

      DIESEL T-SHIRT,GSTAR T-SHIRT,CA T-SHIRT,50% OFF FOR SALE $15

      DIOR SUNGLASS,DG SUNGLASS$15

      our website: ===== http://www.bingstore.us =====

    Join us on Pinterest

    DAILY SHOT VIDEO

    We apologize. An error has occurred. Please try again.