Prevents pregnancy if you haven’t used contraception or if you think your normal contraception has failed 2 types of emergency contraception; the morning after pill – known as Levonelle or ellaOne the copper IUD (intrauterine device, or coil)

How effective are they?

Perfect use: Less than 1% of women who use the Copper IUD get pregnant

Perfect use: The morning after pill – ellaOne 2.2% and Levonelle 1.3% of women get pregnant

What are the advantages?

• Can be taken within 3 or 5 days of unprotected sex, the sooner you take emergency contraception the more effective it is,
• There are no serious side effects of using emergency contraception,
• The IUD can be left in and used as your regular contraception,
• Emergency contraception doesn't cause an abortion.

What makes them less effective to the disadvantages?

• Taking the emergency contraceptive pills Levonelle or ellaOne can give you a headache, tummy pain,  make you feel or be sick, or change your next period for example come earlier, later or more painful than usual,
• If you use the IUD as a regular method of contraception, it can make your periods longer, heavier or more painful, cause pain, infection and discomfort,
• Morning after pill only works if taken before the release of an egg from the ovary,
• Contraceptive pills cant be used if you take certain medicines,
• Less effective than regular methods of contraception,
• Effected by vomiting.

Risks

• Doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted infections,
• In rare cases, there's a small chance of an ectopic pregnancy.

If your symptoms don’t go away after a few days, or you think you maybe pregnant, your period is more than 7 days late, your period is shorter or lighter than usual or you have sudden pain in your lower stomach, you should go and see your doctor or health professional immediately.