Drawn from the News
If a woman has sex while she’s on antibiotics, her contraceptive won’t always work.
Mistakes, forgetting and “oops” moments can also affect forms of birth control.
That’s why there’s Plan B, and Eastern’s Health Service is now offering it to students over the counter.
Plan B, otherwise known as the morning after pill, is a form of emergency contraception.
“If you have intercourse while on antibiotics and birth control and you forget to use a condom, you are susceptible to getting pregnant,” Hollender said. “Antibiotics could alter your birth control, which leads to accidental pregnancies.”
Plan B comes in a two-pill package, which should be obtained as soon as needed.
The pills are to be taken 12 hours apart with the first pill taken no longer than 72 hours after sex. However, Plan B does not work 100 percent of the time.
If taken within the first 72 hours, the pills have an 89 to 90 percent chance of working.
If a woman waits more than 72 hours, she is more likely to get pregnant.
Women used to need a doctor’s prescription, but Plan B is now available over the counter.
Dr. Kim Hollender from Health Services held a “lunch and learn” session Wednesday in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Union for students to learn more about Plan B.
“The pill works in one of two ways,” Hollender said. “The pill may stop the egg from being released and, therefore, not able to be fertilized. Also, if the egg is fertilized, then the pill may change the lining of the uterus so the egg won’t attach and grow,” Hollender said.
Hollender also mentioned that after a woman takes Plan B, her regular menstrual cycle will go back to normal.
The side effects are minimal. The pills may cause nausea and breast tenderness. However, Hollender does not suggest Plan B as an alternative for regular birth control.
“If Plan B is taken repeatedly as a form of birth control, then it could possibly mess up your menstrual cycle,” said Hollender.
The pills are obtainable at Health Services on campus and at local pharmacies, including Walgreen’s, Wal-Mart or CVS. The prices vary from each pharmacy.
Christa Smith, the Sexual Health Education Coordinator at Health Education Resource Center, suggests that students go to Health Services because it’s a less expensive pharmacy.
“Plan B is available at Health Services for only $20,” Smith said. “At Walgreen’s it costs $40, at Wal-Mart it costs $42.62 and at CVS it costs $51,” Smith said.
Other pharmacies require buyers to sign in, while Health Services allows people to remain anonymous.
Other contraceptives offered at Health Services include condoms, birth control pills, the Nuva Ring and the D-P shot. In order to obtain birth control pills or the ring, an appointment must be made with Health Services and an online contraceptive class and quiz must be taken before the appointment.
“This is to educate the person on different kinds of birth control,” said Hollender.
A situation that would call for Plan B would be having intercourse while on both antibiotics and birth control.
Senior health studies major Kamari Thompson thinks that Plan B is a good alternative for women.
“I think that Plan B is a good idea,” said Thompson. “It gives women options just in case something happens.”
The Facts
-Plan B pills should be taken 12 hours apart. Take the first pill no more than 72 hours after sex.
– Plan B does not work 100 percent of the time.
-The pills have an 89 to 90 percent chance of working if they are taken within the first 72 hours.
-If a woman waits more than 72 hours, there is more of a probability of getting pregnant.
