Women Urged to Get 'Morning After' Pill
By Associated Press
3 hours ago

WASHINGTON - Get an advance prescription for emergency contraception so it will be on hand if you need it, the nation's largest gynecologist group advised women Monday.

The new campaign aims to increase access to the morning-after pill following the Bush administration's refusal to allow the emergency birth control to be sold over the counter nationwide.

"We want women to be prepared, well before a contraceptive failure or unprotected sex occurs. Afterward may be too late," said Dr. Michael Mennuti, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The morning-after pill is a high dose of regular birth control pills. It cuts the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent if used within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting routine contraception.

The earlier it's taken, the more effective it is. But it can be hard to find a doctor to write a prescription in time, especially on weekends and holidays.

Citing assessments that easier access could halve the nation's 3 million annual unplanned pregnancies, ACOG and many women's groups have backed an attempt by Plan B's maker to sell the morning-after pill without a prescription, the way it's sold in Britain and Canada _ and in a handful of U.S. states.

But last year, top-ranking Food and Drug Administration officials overruled their own scientists' decision that nonprescription sales would be safe and, citing concern that young teens might use the pills, indefinitely postponed a decision.

The drug has no effect if a woman is already pregnant. It works by blocking ovulation or fertilization.

Conservatives who consider the pill tantamount to abortion have intensely lobbied the White House to reject nonprescription sales, saying they could increase teen sex.

The new "Ask me" campaign takes the discussion back to doctors' offices. ACOG is providing its 49,000 members with waiting-room posters to urge women of childbearing age to ask about a prescription they could keep on hand in case they need emergency contraception in the future.

"Accidents happen," the posters say.

___

Forgot link:

http://www.comcast.net/news/health/i...08/386865.html

I think this is just fine. I personally think that the MAP and EC shouldn't be in pharmacies anymore. It should be between her doctor and herself, period. There are far to many hands in the cookie jar so to speak.

__________________

Seems like a good idea to me.

__________________

This was an interesting line:
Not completely true. It also works by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg, and in some peoples' minds, a fertilized egg means "pregnant." Personally, I have no problem with how the MAP works, but I think it's important for people to realize that it may cause a fertilized egg to be expelled, because this runs against some peoples' beliefs. I think that omitting that from the explanation of how it works is frankly somewhat biased reporting--probably engineered to create wider availability of the MAP, which I'm actually in favor of--but I'm also in favor of people having all the information they need to make health choices that are right for them.

I have no problem with people having the MAP on-hand, but I would like to know if the pill loses its effectiveness after a certain period of time. If so, that would make me somewhat uneasy, as women might think they were protecting themselves when the drug has become ineffective.

__________________
Jessica 34
DH 42
Darling Niece 14
Big girl S. born August 28, 2003
Expecting in January 2007!

I'm not sure that's exactly correct, Jes. From what I've read, there does not seem to be any clinical evidence that Plan B prevents implantation. There's a chance it does, but so far no evidence supports that statement.


Plan B works by preventing ovulation and/or fertilization.

Anyway, I think it's more appropriate to say Plan B may prevent implantation.

__________________

Ah, well, I guess that's true--it couldn't work by simultaneously preventing fertilization, ovulation, and implantation, could it? LOL.

But in fact it is true, Rox--the MAP is just a higher dose of oral contraceptives. ONE of the ways in which oral contraceptives work is by thickening the uterine lining in order to prevent implantation. It's the same medication, just a higher dose.

I completely support the MAP, but I think it's important for people to understand all of the ways in which it may work.

__________________
Jessica 34
DH 42
Darling Niece 14
Big girl S. born August 28, 2003
Expecting in January 2007!

It´s also important to remember that it may not work. I know so many women that have taken MAP within the designated time, and become pregnant.

My gyn said to me that it´s 90% effective the first 24 hours and after that it declines to 50% effective. I took mine after 30-31 hours and the result can be seen in my sig.

__________________