Charity offers free morning after pill by post

6th December 2011 - A sexual health charity says in January, once the party season is over, it sees more women with an unplanned pregnancy than at any other time of the year.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas) is hoping to reduce the number by providing women with emergency contraception for free and by post.  The service will be available while stocks last throughout December.

If you bought the pill from your pharmacist it would cost up to £25.

Convenience

Contraception sometimes fails, says bpas, and sometimes we fail to use it properly. The sooner emergency contraception is taken after unprotected sex, the more effective it is.

According to bpas, obtaining emergency hormonal contraception over Christmas when pharmacies and GP surgeries may be closed, can be difficult. It says it makes sense for women to keep a pill at home, in advance of need, to avoid any delay in taking it.

Nurse consultation

Women wishing to take up the bpas offer have to fill out an online form with their details and a time at which they can be called in privacy by a specially trained nurse.

During a 15 minute telephone appointment the nurse will assess the woman's suitability. The consultation will include an explanation about how the pill works, when to take it and what to expect. The pill will then be sent with condoms and advice literature to the woman's home address.

Tracey Forsyth, bpas lead contraception nurse, said in a press statement: "The morning after pill can be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex, but the sooner it is taken the better - and having it at home means you are much more likely to take it as soon as you need it.

"Sometimes women worry that requesting the pill in advance makes it look like you are planning on taking chances. In fact the opposite is true - making sure you have a back-up to help prevent an unwanted pregnancy is making sure nothing is left to chance.  It’s a particularly good idea if you are relying on condoms. When you contact us we’ll also be able to answer any questions you have about sexual health and contraception, but haven't perhaps found the time or place to ask."

Misguided

Crisis-pregnancy care charity LIFE said in a press release that the scheme is misguided and will not reduce unintended pregnancy rates over the festive period.

According to a review of a number of studies done by researchers in the UK and US and published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organisation that evaluates medical research, women provided with an at-home supply of emergency contraceptives, were just as likely to get pregnant.

The review also found women given an advance supply of emergency contraceptives were no more likely to have unprotected sex, to get an STD or to change how they used other contraceptives, compared to women not given advance supplies. This suggests that they are not less vigilant about safe sex as a result.

The researchers aren’t sure why having an advance supply didn’t lower pregnancy rates, especially since women who had these pills were more likely to use them. However, the researchers did find evidence that women with a high risk of becoming pregnant were often less likely to use their supply of pills than women with a low risk.