A few months ago, I got a survey call. Since it was a long summer day, and I was feeling benevolent, I took it. I spent the next 15 minutes spurting out every bit of information I knew about birth control. I didn’t realize how much I knew, but it seems like it’s everywhere: TV, billboards, magazines. And there are so many different kinds. Pills, rings and patches even shots.
And these forms are just to prevent pregnancy. If you want to be disease-free there is the ever-popular condom, which comes in his and hers.
‘Do you know which pill is proven to improve skin?’
‘Which pill was proven most effective?’
‘Do you feel that a patch would be as effective as a pill?’
While I may not have known all of the information, they didn’t ask me anything about the side effects apparently, drinking while on the pill can make it less effective. Or, a new study came out recently that found the pill may not work as well for women who weigh more than a 150 pounds. While these are facts I’ve picked up from pharmaceutical workers and health magazines, there are other facts that most women just pass over, that can be found right on the back of that glossy magazine ad.
On every ad I found, in bold but small letters, something to the effect of ‘Women using contraceptives should not smoke.’ And most women don’t know that a history of strokes in your family means you should not be taking oral contraceptives.
But even those who aren’t on the pill seem to be fairly responsible when it comes to protected sex. Safety is as close as CampCo, 7-Eleven or Store 24. But everyone makes mistakes. While it is maybe not the easiest thing to own up to, sometimes there are nights where protection just didn’t happen. So you aren’t on the pill, and you had unprotected sex.
What are your options? You can just not think about it and hope that disease and pregnancy pass you by. Or you can make a well-informed responsible decision. You can use emergency contraception, known casually as the ‘morning after pill,’ or EC. This is a pill that can be used up to 72 hours, or three days, after your unprotected romp. It prevents pregnancy before it occurs, by delaying or preventing ovulation. If pregnancy has already occurred, this pill will not affect the pregnancy.
This is not an abortion pill. The abortion pill, or RU486, can be used up to seven weeks after conception occurs. This pill aborts a fetus.
So you have a wild night, or the condom breaks, or birth control just didn’t happen. You can go to your doctor and get an EC pill and go home, right?
Wrong.
In fact, in a study done by Mass NARAL, Massachusetts’ self-described ‘political arm of the pro-choice movement,’ 51 percent of Massachusetts’ hospitals did not provide EC to women without the approval of a primary care physician.
I called an area hospital, asking if I would be able to receive EC, but was told it was unavailable unless I was a patient there. This occurs at more than half of Massachusetts’ hospitals. And even worse, one in five hospitals denied EC to rape victims. According to NARAL’s survey, they were told by one hospital when asking for EC, ‘I don’t even know what that is. We can’t help you.’
So why isn’t this pill prescribed more? According to NARAL, each year half of the pregnancies in the United States, or 2.7 million, are unintended. Of these unintended pregnancies, 48 percent are due to contraceptive failure.
Is EC not safe? According to The Third National Survey of Women’s Health Care Providers on Reproductive Health According, nearly 100 percent of OB-GYNs surveyed consider EC safe and effective, but only one-third prescribe it regularly.
NARAL cites many reasons hospitals are not providing EC to patients. Some have religious affiliations. Some have policies that only provide it for sexual assault victims. But perhaps the largest reason is because women don’t know about it. Women should be aware of all the options they have, and Planned Parenthood will not always be a short trip down the Green Line.
Some people think EC is for those who act recklessly; it’s not. While it is not something to be used for every sexual encounter, it is a safe way for women who have an emergency situation. It’s so easy to say that an emergency situation won’t ever happen to you. But don’t wait for your doctor to mention it. Guys does your girlfriend know about EC?
A condom is still your best bet to protect you from carrying his baby and his diseases. But know your options. We all love those little sweaters in Baby Gap, but I don’t want to start shopping there for a long time.
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