Facebook Pixel

Is The Morning After Pill A Safe Birth Control Option - HER Week In Health

By EmpowHER
 
Rate This

More Videos from EmpowHER 30 videos in this series

EmpowHER correspondent Bailey Mosier recaptures the latest health news.

Bailey Mosier:
Hi, I’m Bailey Mosier and this is your EmpowHER.com week in health. A new report from the journal, “Obstetrics and Gynecology”, found that ‘the morning-after pill’ maybe a safe and effective alternative to other longer term birth control actions.

Once only recommended for emergency use, ‘the morning-after pill’ is shown to be more effective in preventing pregnancy than condoms. The study reports a 5% chance of pregnancy for women taking ‘the morning-after pill’, compared with a 16% chance for women whose partners used condoms.

While not as effective as the patch or a daily birth control pill, ‘the morning-after pill’ is now believed to be safe to use on an ongoing basis.

Each year, about one million U.S. women endure a miscarriage or stillbirth. Only recently have researchers begun to look at the long-term effects of miscarriage on women’s mental health. Doctors previously believed that women who go on to welcome a child after miscarriage or stillbirth are fine. They are finding that’s not always the case.

A study published in the “British Journal of Psychiatry” found that up to 20% of women who had a miscarriage or stillbirth before delivering a healthy baby still had symptoms of depression two to three years after the birth of the healthy child. Ongoing research is being conducted to better learn how to help women cope with depression from losing an infant.

In a recent study published in “Archives of Internal Medicine” examine the cost savings to U.S. if more of us purchased generic drugs when filling our prescriptions. The savings – 6 billion dollars annually, as a nation, to choose generic over brand names for something as simple as say, prescription-strength ibuprofen.

The cost savings per person would be less than $20.00 per year, but the bigger picture would pay large dividends – something to consider the next time you head to the pharmacy.

That wraps up your EmpowHER week in health.

Add a CommentComments

There are no comments yet. Be the first one and get the conversation started!

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy

Sexual Health

Get Email Updates

Resource Centers

Related Checklists

Sexual Health Guide

Have a question? We're here to help. Ask the Community.

ASK

Health Newsletter

Receive the latest and greatest in women's health and wellness from EmpowHER - for free!