·	The morning-after Pill needs to be taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex.

·	Although lots of people talk about ‘the morning-after Pill’ this term is actually very misleading.

·	Why? Because in fact, you don’t have to take this pill on ‘the morning after’ having sex. In reality, it is fairly effective for up to 72 hours (three days).

·	However, the earlier you take it the better; it works best if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex.

·	You’ll probably find that any pharmacist, nurse or doctor to whom you talk will call it ‘The post-coital Pill’ - or ‘PCP'.

·	Other professionals call it ‘the emergency contraceptive’ or ‘EC'.

·	It stops you from becoming pregnant – at least, in the vast majority of cases. It’s not 100 per cent effective, but the failure rate is quite low – probably about 10 per cent, and rather better than that if you take it as early as possible.

·	The PCP is believed to work principally by preventing your ovaries from releasing an egg, and by affecting the womb lining, so that a fertilised egg couldn’t ‘embed’ itself there.

·	In many western countries, it is not legally regarded as an abortion-causing drug, but as a contraceptive.

·	It’s now very widely used by women (especially young women) who have had unprotected sex. And in particular, it has proved of value to:

·	rape victims – who should insist that they are given it (unfortunately, in Britain the doctors who examine raped women have sometimes been rather slow to prescribe it).

·	couples who have had a condom break.

·	women who have been lured into having sex while under the influence of drink or drugs.

·

headache

·	tummy ache

·	breast tenderness

·	vaginal ‘spotting’ of blood

·	dizziness.

·	people with severe liver disease.

·	people with a very rare condition called porphyria.

·	The important thing to realise is that you must move fast.

·	In the early days of the PCP, some health professionals seemed to be incredibly good at putting all sorts of obstacles in the way of women who wanted to take it – like giving them an appointment for five days’ time!

·	That’s very uncommon now, and most general practices (not all) will see you on the day you request the PCP – but you really must make clear to the receptionist that the need is urgent.

·	If there is some difficulty in getting to see a helpful physician (for instance, if her surgery is closed), then you can get the PCP from several other types of doctor.

·	Nowadays quite a lot of pharmacists (though not all) will supply it to you ‘over-the-counter,’ without a doctor’s prescription.

·	The pharmacist will certainly wish to counsel you first, and to make sure you understand about how to take the PCP, and what to do if it doesn’t work.

·	As I’ve said above, not all chemists are willing to do this work. For instance, in a town where I practise, two of the huge supermarket chains have pharmacies - one of which will provide the PCP, the other will not.

·	To avoid any possible embarrassment for yourself, I suggest you ring the pharmacist before going along, and ask him whether he provides the post-coital Pill.

·	the PCP does not protect you for the rest of your menstrual cycle; therefore, either abstain from sex or use a barrier method (like a condom).

·	the PCP is not good at protecting against ectopic pregnancies, although these are rare - so if by any chance you get lower tummy pain (or abnormal bleeding) in the few weeks after using it, see your doctor.

·	We simply don’t know the answer to this question.

·	At present, no one has shown any increase in abnormalities among babies who have been exposed to the PCP. But past experience does show that other hormones taken in early pregnancy have harmed children.

·	Yes, it is possible to have a coil fitted after unprotected sex - though this is nowhere near as common.

·	The big advantage of the ‘post-coital coil’ is that you can have it put in as late as five days after having sex (though preferably earlier).