Pregnancy Scare & Plan B

[nxnam]

Hi, i need help.

My bf and I had sex 2 days ago, unprotected, and from spur of the moment,he finished inside me. I’m not on birth control, so i took the plan b pill the next morning, around 6 hours after the incident.
I’m almost positive that i ovulated 1-3 days prior to the incident. I know this because for the past 6 months i have been noticing a very specific type of “jelly” discharge right in the middle of my cycle, it would happen for 2-3 days, and then exactly 2 weeks later i would start my period. I had the discharge maybe 2-3 days before we had sex.
The plan b box claims that it stops ovulation and also stops fertilization and implantation. However, i have been reading quite a bit of research saying that recent studies show that it’s main role is the prevention of ovulation and if taken after ovulation, it has less or no affect on your chances of getting pregnant as someone who didn’t take the pill. I’m really worried now. i need to know how true this is? The articles talk about how the FDA isn’t required to update the information on the plan b box.
Help ?? Are my chances of getting pregnant higher if i ovulated before taking plan b??

[Alice O]

Hey nxnam,

When taken within 24 hours of the risk, emergency contraceptive pills can reduce the risk of getting pregnant by 98 percent. You are right that one of the ways emergency contraception (EC) works is by delaying or inhibiting ovulation, but they also work by inhibiting fertilization if ovulation does happen. It is also thought that there may be even more ways that Plan B and other EC pills work, but those are the only two ways that have been proven in clinical studies.

Another piece is that many people don't realize that conception is a process that takes around 5-7 days to occur, it doesn't happen instantly when people have sex. So emergency contraception can prevent pregnancy because it works before pregnancy happens.

After doing a quick Google search, I can say that some of the resources you are finding online that say Plan B definitely won't work likely have a certain political agenda they are promoting. If you want to learn a bit more here is an article about common misconceptions about EC, and the other gives you a bit of an overview:
10 Common Myths, Misunderstandings and Big Ol' Lies About Emergency Contraception
Emergency Contraception (Plan B or the Morning-After-Pill)

Also let us know if you would like to talk about birth control options!