Emergency Pregnancy Prevention
Q: I just had a look at your site and hope you can help me. I had sex with
my boyfriend around 24 hours ago. We often have sex, but this is the first time
he discharged within me. Now I am really scared of getting pregnant. Afterward
I immediately went to the bathroom and urinated. The white fluid came out before
the urine. However, I am still not sure about the chance of getting pregnant.
I am 23 years of age and had my period around 15 days ago. Please advise if
I can take some preventive medicine. I really cannot consult any of my family
members or any doctor as I belong to a very conservative family.
Dr. Donnica: Any time you have unprotected intercourse you have a risk of
getting pregnant, even if your boyfriend does not ejaculate inside you. Sometimes
your risk is greater than others, especially 2 weeks after your period.
The only thing you can do at this point is to take emergency contraception.
Emergency contraception means taking certain birth control pills within 72 hours
after unprotected sex. Ideally, you should take the first dose as soon as possible.
If you live in Alaska, California, New Mexico, or Washington you can get this
medicine directly from a participating pharmacist (Hawaii will soon be joining
that list); in all other states you must get a prescription from a physician
in order to get emergency contraception. For a list of participating pharmacists
or more information on emergency contraception, visit www.not-2-late.com.
In the event that you are not pregnant, I strongly recommend that you use this
experience as a wake up call and use reliable contraception each and every time
you have intercourse until you want to become pregnant. If you do not have a
physician you can speak with, go to a local Planned Parenthood or other family
planning clinic. Until that appointment, please insist that your boyfriend use
condoms each and every time you have sex, regardless of whether he plans to
ejaculate inside you.
Best regards,
Donnica Moore, MD
President, DrDonnica.com
Created: 5/1/2004 - Donnica Moore, M.D.
