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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think women should be told this about the morning after pill?

380 replies

christmaselfie1 · 21/12/2020 15:52

The morning after pill is directly linked to ovulation, and if you have already ovulated then it is pretty much pointless!

I had sex where the condom split on Monday last week, but due to covid restrictions and living rurally I was not able to get the morning after pill until Friday (4 days after sex). I have taken Ellaone before, the brand that you can take up to 5 days after, so assumed that all would be okay. I am also tracking my cycles on the instruction of my gynaecologist because I suffer with ovarian cysts.

I got my LH surge and a positive ovulation test on Wednesday morning, which means ovulation would have occurred imminently, most likely well before I took the morning after pill on Friday evening!

Since researching, I have discovered that the morning after pill works by delaying or preventing ovulation. Therefore, if you have already ovulated, and the sperm happened to meet the egg in that time, the morning after pill has pretty much zero effect! You can read it yourself on the manufacturers website...

www.ellaone.co.uk/faqs/does-ellaone-work-if-youve-already-ovulated

I have taken the morning after pill three times and I have never been told this by any pharmacist. I have never been informed on how it works, just that is it effective up to 5 days after unprotected sex. The only emergency contraception that works in these circumstances is the IUD. I have now got the worry for the next week that I might be pregnant.

Am I the only person that had no idea how the morning after pill works?!

OP posts:
Funneth · 21/12/2020 21:43

@christmaselfie1 Sorry to hear that you're worrying about this at the moment, it hasn't been the easiest of times for anyone lately and to have that on top! Try to remember that whatever happens you will always have options. It's very thoughtful of you to be wanting to share this infortmation with others as you are clearly onto something given the number of us who were similarly unsure of how this specific medication works.

Crimblecrumble1990 · 21/12/2020 21:44

I have had to take the MAP recently for the first time and only found this out when googling on forums before I went to the chemist.

I specifically said to the pharmacist that I thought I was ovulating and would it be a problem and she was very dismissive and said no. I also wasn't asked my weight and on further reading the pill I was given is much less effective as I am overweight.

I think the only thing I was asked was was I over 16....

Time will tell if the MAP worked or not. Luckily I am in a position where I would be able to keep a baby but I think it's crazy none of this was discussed.

Original poster
christmaselfie1 · 21/12/2020 21:47

Taken directly from the Ellaone website, this is what pharmacists should be informing women who come in asking for the MAP:

'If you have had unprotected sex at the point of ovulation, the copper intrauterine device (copper coil) is the only emergency contraceptive that could still be effective.'

OP posts:
ImEatingVeryHealthilyOhYes · 21/12/2020 21:49

This is absolutely shocking!

I can’t believe I’m a pretty highly educated woman who’s been fertile for nearly 40 years, worked in health research most of that time (not in gynaecology, though sometimes in public health) and I believed a myth about this!

ImEatingVeryHealthilyOhYes · 21/12/2020 21:49

30 years

merlotormalbec · 21/12/2020 21:50

I was ovulating when the condom split ( I didn't know at the time but figured it out due to the pain that wasn't period pain) took the MAP less than 12 hours later and still got pregnant. I guess I didn't know I was ovulating at the time. Was a very shitty thing to of happened.

ImEatingVeryHealthilyOhYes · 21/12/2020 21:52

Knowing this now, if I had a contraceptive failure I’d go and get a digital ovulation test as well as the map and do both

AnaisNun · 21/12/2020 21:53

Not RTFT and it’s been a good 5 years since I used MAP, but I thought Ellaone was effective in three ways? Delayed ovulation, thinned womb lining and something else I can’t remember?

Looking back and feeling VERY lucky if that’s been proven not to be the case...

FTMF30 · 21/12/2020 21:53

I had no idea!

Hope things work out for you OP. I can only imagine how stressful this must be.

Original poster
christmaselfie1 · 21/12/2020 21:58

@AnaisNun The only thing that MAP's do is prevent or delay ovulation. From all the research I've done through being so bloody paranoid now, there is no evidence that it does anything but delay ovulation. The dosage and length of time the medication is in your body wouldn't be enough to make any changes to the endometrium lining. From the time the egg is fertilised to implantation, Ellaone would be out of your system.

OP posts:
FATEdestiny · 21/12/2020 21:59

I did not know this.

I am astonished at the lack of clarity on this. It needs proper research to find out the extent of mis-information, in my view. Nice topic for MNHQ to lobby on.

As for those saying you should read the leaflet etc, I've never used emergency contraception, so obviously never read the leaflet that comes with it. But I have a sexually active teenage daughter and if she had unprotected sex it would be my first suggestion for her. I would have no idea it was only effective in the first half of the cycle.

AnaisNun · 21/12/2020 22:01

Omg.

Man was I lucky. I was both promiscuous and careless back in the day.

Then when I got my act together ... got a diaphragm, steady boyf, etc etc... I had a surprise baby.

So either I timed my MAP usage incredibly well... or DS was the baby that was really meant to be Grin

BertieBotts · 21/12/2020 22:04

The digital ovulation test wouldn't help you Healthy, because it only detects an LH surge which predates ovulation by about 24-48 hours.

IrregularCommentary · 21/12/2020 22:06

I wasn't told this either during the consultation with the pharmacist.

I even asked the pharmacist if there was any difference between how the two options worked, and which would be better.

All they said was that one worked for longer, but that it was up to me which I chose.

I was within the 3 day window so assumed Levonelle would be fine.

It wasn't, and I ended up having a termination.

ImEatingVeryHealthilyOhYes · 21/12/2020 22:09

Yes but BertieBotts it’s all extra information, if you happened to be at that point in the cycle you’d know where you were at least

ShandlersWig · 21/12/2020 22:10

I just the we women are hideously under educated when it comes to our own bodies. I remember when I was TTC my friend lent me this large orange book (cannot remember the name, but it was excellent) and it was split into 2. It described how the female reproductive system worked and very clearly stated how become or avoid pregnancy. I'd spent my youth thinking I could get pregnant after any sexual encounter when in fact it's a window of approx 11 days max reducing the older you get.
I was amazed I'd never come accross this before.

BobbidyBob · 21/12/2020 22:15

but many women do not know when they ovulate. unless you are ttc why would you?

Sorry if it’s already been said, but lots and lots of women have ovulation pain. I know exactly when I am/have ovulated, and speaking amongst my friends I am not unusual in this. Besides the point, I know, just thought I’d mention it.

Original poster
christmaselfie1 · 21/12/2020 22:17

I get ovulation pain, cervical mucus and have been tracking my cycle for medical reasons. From my app (which I entered my LH strips into, including my very positive one from Wednesday morning), it predicted that I ovulated on Thursday. I got the pains Wednesday and Thursday. Had the pharmacist informed me of the ineffectiveness of the pill post-ovulation, I would have known there was no point taking it and would've got an appointment to get an IUD fitted.

OP posts:
Jagzorx · 21/12/2020 22:18

Just wanted to pop in and say- really good article on patient.info

patient.info/sexual-health/contraception-methods/emergency-contraception

This is just generally a really good website for reliable information. I'm a GP and I print out articles from this website about various conditions to give to my patients.

Good luck OP.

BertieBotts · 21/12/2020 22:23

I think most people don't really think about how conception occurs - I didn't until we had trouble conceiving. I just assumed there was an equal chance of pregnancy any time you had unprotected sex. I had a vague notion that it was more likely when you were ovulating, but didn't really know the mechanics of it.

In reality:

You have sex. The sperm then lives in your fallopian tube for up to 5 days, waiting around for an egg. If no egg appears in time, no pregnancy.

Or

You ovulate. Your egg hangs around in the fallopian tube for 24-48 hours or so, waiting for any sperm that might come along. If no sperm appears in time, no pregnancy.

In both cases, fertilisation almost always occurs, but there is about a 60-80% chance that the body will completely naturally reject the fertilised egg, meaning there is about a 20% chance of conception in any cycle where unprotected sex occurs. Doesn't matter if it's once or 20 times. (I always wondered why there wasn't a known "chance of pregnancy per time you have sex" - that's why. It's per cycle.)

That's why there's a fertility window of approximately 5-7 days, the first part/majority of the window is based on the sperm arriving first, and the last part of the window is based on the egg arriving first. The reason they say you are potentially fertile for your entire cycle is that unless you're tracking ovulation and/or you're regular as a clock, you won't necessarily know when you ovulate, and you certainly won't know 5 days in advance. Even if you are regular, that's not a guarantee you won't have an irregular or even extra ovulation - I know someone who is certain she ovulates twice.

I suppose that there is an argument EC/MAP is potentially helpful even if you've already ovulated, since most people aren't really sure when they ovulate, and it's possible to ovulate later than you expected. However if you're definitely sure because you get unmistakeable signs, then it's probably worth being aware of all the background to it.

mumsy82288 · 21/12/2020 22:36

OP obviously don't want to worry you further, but this happened to me too and I ended up having a termination at 17. The pharmacist never told me and I never learnt it at school. It needs to be covered in depth in sex ed.

Can't stand some of these patronising responses.

Googlebrained · 21/12/2020 22:42

Well done for posting this OP. Even if one person is informed by this thread it's of benefit and ignore the snarky responses. I'd never heard this and I'm usually pretty well informed about stuff like this.

marvelousmadmadammim · 21/12/2020 22:43

It's written in the leaflet!!!

TheFormerPorpentinaScamander · 21/12/2020 22:47

The only thing I got when I took the MAP was a lecture on being more careful and going to the pharmacy quicker. Hmm

ImEatingVeryHealthilyOhYes · 21/12/2020 22:47

I also really hope this thread comes up in people’s online searches.

Studies have been done on how many people read medication leaflets and it’s approx 20-25%