Emergency Contraceptive pills should not be confused with birth control pills. While Birth Control pills are a preventive measure, Emergency Contraception is a reactive one. Emergency Contraceptive pills are also known as Morning After Pills and in most of the countries including India, United States and Europe, it's available as an over-the-counter drug which does not need a doctor's prescription to purchase.
It comes handy immediately after having unprotected sex. If in the last night a women forgets to take any precaution and she is not ready for a baby just yet, the best possible remedy would be to take one emergency contraceptive pill, preferably with in 72 hours after having an unprotected sex. A clarification here - Morning After pills do not cause abortion, it just helps in preventing pregnancy if the egg cell has not already been fertilized by the sperm cell. It is more effective if taken with in 24 hours after an unprotected sex.
Side Effects
There is no long term side effects of taking these pills. Immediately after taking an emergency contraceptive pill, you may experience headache, vomiting tendency, abdominal pain, breast tenderness. However these discomforts are short lived and vanishes with in 4-5 hours. If you vomit immediately after taking the pill, it is advisable to take another one to be on the safer side. One more important point to remember is that after taking the pill, try take rest or lie down on bed if possible.
Also it is important to keep it in mind that morning after pill may result your menstrual period to get delayed by 3-7 days. However, if your period is late by more than 7 days, then you should go for a home pregnancy test for getting a confirmation.
Commonly Used Morning After Pill Brand-Names:
1. i-Pill - Cipla - India 2. Unwanted-72 - Mankind Pharma - India 3. E-Pill - Hindustan Latex - India 4. ECee2 - Cadila - India 5. Preventol - Hindustan Latex - India 6. Ella - Watson - United States 7. EllaOne - HRA Pharma - European Countries 8. Levonelle 1500 - Medimpex - England, Denmark, Ireland 9. ECP - ZAFA Pharma - Pakistan 10. Emkit / Emkit Plus - ZAFA Pharma - Pakistan 11. Emcon - Renata Ltd. - Sri Lanka 12. Madona - Biolab Co. - Sri Lanka, Thailand 13. Ai Wu You - Hubei Gedian - China 14. An Ting - Shenyang No.1 - China 15. Diad - Simed - Brazil, South America