Does emergency contraception affect libido?
Monday, August 30th, 2010Emergency contraception is a form of birth control exercised by millions of couples all over the world after unprotected sexual intercourse. There are various reasons other than unprotected sex, such as condom breakage and sexual assault, why emergency contraception is used.
Emergency pills are popularly known as morning after pills, but can be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sexual intercourse. They work by stopping ovulation. It should be noted that these pills are different from abortion pills. They do not disrupt a pregnancy in any way. These pills should be used before you become pregnant. They are not meant for everyday use and regular use is strongly discouraged. The best method to prevent pregnancy is to abstain from sexual intercourse.
These pills are very popular because they are inexpensive, easy to use and effective. More than 85% of women have used this pill to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.
How long it takes to be effective?
More than 75% of the pregnancies all over the world are prevented by use of emergency contraceptive pills. The effectiveness of these pills decreases after a day and until the 3rd after unprotected sexual intercourse. The sooner you take them, the better for you. You will find many effective emergency contraceptive pills such as Levonelle and ellaOne, which are trusted by thousands of women. ellaOne can be used up to 5 days after unprotected sex and it has a success rate of 98%.
Traditional contraceptive pills have an 8% success rate if taken on the second day after unprotected sex but ellaOne is way more effective than them. ellaOne helps to reduce the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy.
Will it affect libido?
Recent studies have shown that birth control pills affect your sex drive as they work directly on the hormones. These pills stop the production of testosterone and other androgens in the woman’s ovary. As androgens have a direct effect on the sex drive of a woman, their absence leads to a lower sex drive. Most women who take such pills are not able to derive pleasure during sexual intercourse. These pills are known to increase the level of globulin in the body, which prevents a woman from using testosterone effectively. This is why these pills are linked with a low sex drive.
Women who discontinue this pill suffer from long term side effects. It is better to use it only during an emergency. Whether the sex drive returns to a normal level after discontinuation of this pill or not, is not known. But scientists are trying hard to find an answer. If you are suffering from low libido, you should talk to your doctor about it. Your emergency contraceptive pills maybe contributing to the reduced sexual desire.
This does not mean that you should stop taking the pill, it means that your doctor will find another similar pill that will help you prevent pregnancies but not decrease your sex drive.
FDA approval for EC pills
Most pills, after being clinically tested for a long time by an expert group of doctors are given FDA approval. ellaOne is approved by the FDA as it is safe and has very few long term side effects, which arise only if a woman uses it regularly.