Your questions about Emergency contraceptives answered:

What is the morning-after pill?

The morning-after pill stops you from becoming pregnant, after unprotected sex.

Although lots of people talk about the morning-after pill, this term is actually misleading.

In reality, the traditional type of tablet works for up to 72 hours (three days) after sex – not just the morning after. And the newer version, introduced in 2010, should work for up to FIVE days after intercourse.

But the earlier you take it, the better: the morning-after pill works best if taken within 12 hours of unprotected sex.

Medical professionals don't use the term morning after pill. They call it the post-coital pill (PCP) or – in Britain – the emergency contraceptive (EC).

Taking the emergency contraceptive used to involve taking TWO pills, separated by an interval. But these days, you only have to swallow a single tablet.

How does it work?

It works by:

• preventing your ovaries from releasing an egg
• altering the lining of your womb, so that an egg can't embed itself there.

It does not causes abortions. And it won't work if you're already pregnant.

What are the side-effects?

The commonest unwanted effects are:

• nausea
• mild menstrual irregularity – so your next period may be slightly early or late
• low abdominal pain
• headache
• Vomiting.

If you throw up within TWO hours of taking a it tablet, you've probably lost it. So you need to take another one.

Severe lower tummy pain could just possibly indicate an ectopic pregnancy, because it isn't so good at preventing those. Contact a doctor immediately.

If you're supposed to be on the Pill, the the mini-Pill, the vaginal contraceptive ring or the contraceptive patch, you can continue using your current method after taking it. But you should either avoid sex or employ condoms until the doctor tells you that you are safe from pregnancy.

How effective are ECs?

Neither type of morning-after pill is 100 per cent effective, but the failure rate is quite low. It's probably well under 10 per cent, and rather better than that if you take it as early as possible.

Who is it useful for?

The morning-after pill is now widely used by women who have had unprotected sex. In particular, it has proved of value to:

• rape victims, who should insist that they are given it (unfortunately, UK doctors who examine these victims have sometimes been slow to prescribe it)
• couples who have a condom break during sex
• women who have been lured into having sex, while under the influence of drink or drugs.

Is it dangerous to use?

Not at all. If anybody tells you that it has 'lots of side-effects' or 'makes you dreadfully sick', don't believe them.

An older form of PCP used in the 1990s did often cause severe nausea, but today's post-coital pills cause very little trouble.

Personally, I have never seen any severe side-effects from either type of PCP. But you can find more details about possible side-effects from the package leaflet.

How do I take it?

As soon as possible, just swallow it with some water.

Indeed, because of the urgency, I usually advise patients to ask the chemist for a glass of water, so they can take it right away.

Any other warnings?

• Your next period may come early or late. If it doesn't arrive within a couple of days of the expected time, see a doctor.
• The morning-after pill does not protect you from pregnancy for the rest of your menstrual cycle. So either abstain from sex or use a barrier method like a condom.
• The morning-after pill is not good at protecting against ectopic pregnancies, although these are rare. If you get lower tummy pain or abnormal bleeding in the weeks after using it, see your doctor.

If it doesn't work, could the tablet harm the unborn baby?

We simply don't know the answer to this question.

No research has shown any increase in abnormalities among babies whose mothers took the morning-after pill. But past experience does show that other hormones taken in early pregnancy have harmed children.

Contraceptive Choices For Women....

This article is going to mainly focus on the contraceptive choices available for women.

First of all you must decide whether you are looking for contraceptive measures with a single partner or multiple partners. If it is the same person you will be having intercourse regularly then the contraceptive decisions can be shared. However, you must always remember that most contraceptive measures do not provide protection from STD’s (Sexually Transmitted Diseases). You can use condoms to protect yourself from most STD infections unto 95%. These days condoms are available for both men and women.

Choosing a contraceptive method or device depends on several factors like the person’s involved, their age, their health history, budget and various other personal or convenient reasons.

Surgical Method:

At first you must understand that there are permanent contraceptives like surgeries called Sterilizations. You must decide to undergo this only if you have children and do not want to have any more hereafter. Sterilization is irreversible. It has no side effects and is very easily done. It is done by either clipping the fallopian tubes or removing pieces of the tubes so that the eggs do not reach the uterus. This is usually done using a Laproscope by a gynecologist under anesthesia. You will fully recover within a few days. This method does not affect your sexual activity or does not cause any hormonal imbalances. Small cuts are made in the abdomen and the fallopian tubes are either tied up or clipped with surgical instruments. It is relatively a easy and quick procedure and offers a life long contraception for the female.

Mechanical Method:

If a woman decides to have children in the future then she can go for Intra Uterine devices called IUD’s. In India they are more commonly called Copper T’s. This is a T shaped copper structure made of copper wire and is inserted in the uterus by your gynecologist. It requires no surgery and is done in the clinic in about 15- 20 minutes. The T – shaped structure sits in your uterus and it can last up to 5 years these days. Copper usually kills the sperms when they come in contact with the IUD. Alternatively, the IUD in position does not allow the fertilized eggs to implant in the uterus too. This is relatively a cheaper and reversible contraceptive. But it is better to have it inserted after you have at least one child though not necessarily. You might experience a light cramping in your legs while the doctor inserts it. After an hour or so you will be back to normal. It does not interfere with your monthly periods. There will be a thread hanging out of the copper T through your cervix. Don’t worry if you cannot see or feel it. When you want the IUD to be removed you can ask your doctor to just pull it off. This is not painful either. This mechanical method is best for women who forget to take the hormonal pills on time which will be discussed next.

Hormonal Methods:

This method is to take certain pills that contain the hormones estrogen and progestin. They are usually taken daily for 21 days followed by a one week, no pill week (7 days). This no pill week is the time you will have your monthly periods. So after these 7 days that is on the 29th day you will again start taking the contraceptive pills. The main thing here is, you have to remember to take the pill daily and on the same time of the day. If you alter the timings by more than 3 hours differences(later), the efficacy of the contraception is reduced. These pills are safe to use if you don’t have a history of blood clotting and if you are not obese since these pills alter your hormonal levels. Recently, hormonal injections are in the market and have to be taken once in 3 months. These are slightly expensive but if you are very forgetful in taking the pills on time this is better option. Also a new type of IUD with hormones is implanted in the uterus which has the same effect and can last up to 5 years.

Barrier Methods:

This is the far simplest contraception and requires no fore planning. You can use female condoms, cervical caps and diaphragms to prevent the sperms from reaching your eggs. A diaphragm is something that you will have to coat it with a cream or spermicidal which kills the sperms when it touches the diaphragm. This diaphragm is inserted into the cervix and you can remove it after 6 hours after you have had intercourse. The diaphragm can be washed and used later again. Remember to apply the spermicidal cream when inserting it again in your vagina. This is still not very commonly available and it requires a little practice but is relatively simple and an instant contraceptive for women.

Natural Methods:

The last topic I would like to touch on contraceptives for women is the natural method of preventing it without any one of the above methods. It does not cost you anything, is safe and relatively easy. For this you must understand how the female reproductive cycle works and the time period you ovulate every month. This can be studied by monitoring the changes in your basal body temperature and cervical mucus. Basal Body temperature is the temperature at the time you wake up. Keep a thermometer besides you daily and note the temperature first thing in the morning. The temperature will be the same every day, but on the day of ovulation, that is your most fertile period and thereafter the temperature will be slightly higher until your next period day. There are plenty of graphing charts on the web, if you make a graph you can easily see when your most fertile days are. This is also the best way to see when you are most fertile to get pregnant. Secondly, the thick white discharge from your vagina will be much higher in volume and will be like clear, sticky egg whites during the fertile days which are approximately 12-18 days from your last period. If you don’t have intercourse during these days you can prevent yourself from getting pregnant.

Caution: For this method you must have a regular cycle every month, if your cycle is haphazard you might not be able to find out when you are ovulating to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

THE ULTIMATE CHOICE:

iChew!!!

Mitigating the side effects of morning after pills and adding a cool quotient to contraception, iChew is the -solution perfect!!! Enjoy your favourite flavour of gum and avoid unwanted pregnancy at the same time!!! So all you ladies, go get wild, breakfree and enjoy the moments of intimacy without any tensions or worries

100+ likes on its first day…Cheers iChew!

Its a proud moment for us to see 100+ likes on the very first day of inception of our brainchild iChew.

Cheers!

It brings all the way more onus on us to develop the idea better and promote the concept of a safer, smarter and cooler way of birth-control measure- “A contraceptive chewing gum”. A product that promises to shatter the negative connotation attached with buying the morning-after pills; making it a cool thing to buy a card of chewing gums and savor various flavors while you prevent unwanted pregnancy at the same time. Not only that, iChew is ambitioned to be a product that mitigate the existing side effects of present products in the market.

iChew-a true friend of women hood, allows her to break free, worry not and enjoy the epitome of intimate moments without tensions and apprehensions.

The concept is being hugely accepted and liked by an audience comprised largely of “youth”, rest is to be seen in the days to come. We wish “iChew” all the very best and encourage more and more young minds to analyse the idea and pour in their valuable comments/suggestions.

What is iChew?

iChew is a safe and smart contraceptive chewing gum that offers you an effective way to prevent an unplanned pregnancy.

The need for iChew may arise when you may be at risk of a pregnancy due to several reasons such as contraceptive failure, unprotected sex and improper use of your regular birth control method.

iChew helps prevent the implantation of the egg in the uterus and avoids the beginning of pregnancy.

It works in any of the three different ways depending on where you may be in your menstrual cycle.

• It may stop an egg being released from the ovary.
• If an egg has been released, iChew may prevent the sperm from fertilizing it.
• If the egg is already fertilized, it may prevent it from attaching itself to the lining of the womb.

iChew has advantage over other emergency morning-after pills available in the market, in term of having minimal side effects. This revolutionary product will shatter the negative connotations attached with such pills and allows you to have a loving making experience free of worries and apprehensions. Not sure of the adequacy of precautions taken last night?- Just have an iChew chewing gum and get going!!! Isn’t it cool…