Research Briefs on Emergency Contraception

Emergency contraception (EC) can prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse, method failure, or incorrect method use. The most widely used emergency contraceptives are regimens of birth control pills that use the same hormonal ingredients found in regular oral contraceptives but in higher doses.

These briefs provide information about EC's safety, efficacy, and method of action.

Emergency Contraceptive Pills: Information for Policy-Makers and Providers (2002)

Unprotected sexual intercourse results in millions of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies worldwide each year. Many of these pregnancies — as well as the health risks and costs associated with them — could be avoided if emergency contraceptive pills were more widely available and easily accessible to women.