How often does the morning after pill fail?

Ah, the morning after pill. A tiny tablet that gives people just the right dose of hormones to prevent pregnancy from occurring. It’s like taking a magic potion but without all the Harry Potter theatrics.

But how reliable is it exactly? Does it work every time or are there instances where this mystical little pill falls short?

Well folks, let me break it down for you in plain (and maybe slightly entertaining) language.

What Is The Morning After Pill And Why Do People Use It?

Before we dive into its accuracy, let’s get a brief overview of what this little pill actually does and why people use it.

The morning after pill is a type of emergency contraception that’s taken after unprotected sex or when someone forgets to take their regular birth control pills (whoops!). Its sole purpose is to lower your risk of getting pregnant – no more and no less.

There are two types: levonorgestrel and ulipristal acetate (which sounds like an incredibly fancy name for a Harry Potter spell). Levonorgestrel can be purchased over-the-counter at most pharmacies while ulipristal requires a prescription and is only available through health care providers.

So…How Does It Work Exactly?

I’m glad you asked! When taken correctly within 72 hours (or up to 120 hours depending on which brand you use), these pills will stop ovulation from occurring. No egg release means no fertilization so sperm never gets its chance to party with any potential eggs (sorry guys).

If fertilization has already occurred then these tablets may also affect the lining of the uterus or slow down further development preventing implantation (how rude!)

Now Here Comes The Burning Question – How Reliable Are They Really?

In Perfect Circumstances

According to Planned Parenthood , “using Plan B before ovulation would mean there’s no egg for sperm to fertilize. And if it’s taken after ovulation, the escort service operates as usual – except instead of picking up passengers, they carry around a ‘just-missed-the-ovum’ sign in hopes that someone picks them up.”

It has been reported that Plan B fails 0.9% of the time when used correctly prior to ovulation.

So based on this information one might be inclined to say “Hey pretty decent odds guys. We’re good!”.

But Real Life Is Messy

However, once we move away from perfect circumstances things may not be quite so rosy.

Like what if you had unprotected sex multiple times during your menstrual cycle and have already ovulated by the time you take morning-after pills? Or maybe something screwed with their absorption like vomiting within two hours of taking levonorgestrel (not pleasant)?

Well… here comes the moment you’ve all been waiting for:

THE MORNING AFTER PILL IS NOT 100% EFFECTIVE!!!

I know, I know – doesn’t everything sound better when presented in ALL CAPS?

In fact according to some sources these emergency contraceptives fail almost twice as often as regular birth control pills. That’s over eight percent per pregnancy compared with combined contraception methods which are only marginally higher at nine percent! A study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology also found that women who weighed more than 165 pounds were twice as likely to become pregnant despite taking Plan B than those who weighed less (Fat shaming is a big NO!)

What Should You Do If It Fails?

Firstly let me tell you what not to do: panic!

If you happen to find yourself dosing off into nausea again double check (because mistakes happen) but most importantly go see a healthcare professional.

They will likely suggest one of many routes depending on where you’re at in your cycle, and how long it’s been since the unprotected sex to perform a pregnancy test.

If the test is positive then congratulations you’re pregnant! However if it comes back negative that means their dastardly plan may have worked last time but they should still be cautious. The morning-after pill doesn’t provide protection against sexually transmitted infections so luckily for them there are other ways to prevent sexual diseases.

Conclusion

So there we have it folks: morning after pills only work under certain specific circumstances, reliability rates decrease with any deviation from these perfect scenarios, and results can even vary based on individual demographics!

Does this mean that people shouldn’t use emergency contraception? Absolutely not! It’s better than going without anything and having the potential of an unwanted/unplanned pregnancy. But always remember that no birth control method out there is 100% effective – so let’s all just double check our medications next time shall we?

TL;DR:

Morning after pills work by stopping ovulation or slowing down fertilization/implantation if taken within 72-120 hours of unprotected sex or missed regular contraceptive dosages,

They fail nearly twice as often compared to regular contraceptives when used outside optimal conditions such as after ovulation or while experiencing gastrointestinal illness shortly afterward,

Always consult medical professionals when in doubt, and whilst effectiveness varies significantly based on one’s body weight etc.. Only safe assumption is “better than nothing”

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