Myths

You can only use Levonelle One Step® two or three times in a year, right?

Levonelle One Step® should be reserved for emergencies only but there is no medical reason why you can't use Levonelle One Step more than once.

If you really need Levonelle One Step®, it can be used when necessary but should not replace long-term methods of contraception.

Moreover, if you do take it more than once, it is more likely to alter the timing of your next period which means you could be putting yourself at a greater risk of pregnancy.

Levonelle One Step® will upset the timing of your periods for months, right?

Levonelle One Step® has no long-term effect on your monthly cycle.

Levonelle One Step® affects your long-term fertility, right?

There is no evidence that Levonelle One Step® has any effect on a woman's future ability to become pregnant.

Emergency contraceptive pills are mainly used by young girls aged 16 - 18, right?

Research has shown that the people who are most likely to buy Levonelle One Step® in a Pharmacy are women aged 25-34 years.

You need a prescription for Levonelle One Step® (the morning after pill), right?

If you're over 16, you can buy Levonelle One Step® at most pharmacies throughout the UK, once you answer a few questions.   See See What will the pharmacist ask me?   or  I am under 16.

You're likely to be sick when you take emergency contraceptive pills, right?

Wrong. Most women will neither feel nor be sick. Only 1% of women will be sick, in which case, they need to contact their doctor or pharmacist right away. See Side effects. Being sick

Levonelle One Step® is only for young women, right?

Wrong. You can use Levonelle One Step® emergency contraception right up to the menopause.

You have to take Levonelle One Step® (the emergency contraceptive pill) the morning after unprotected sex, right?

Provided you follow the instructions, you can take Levonelle One Step® up to 72 hours after unprotected sex but its effectiveness decreases with time. The figures are: 95% effective after 24 hours, 85% effective between 25 and 48 hours and 58% between 49 - 72 hours. It is important to act quickly.

You can develop other health problems if you take Levonelle One Step® emergency contraception, right?

There is no evidence that Levonelle One Step® affects your long-term health in any way.

Taking Levonelle One Step® is like having an abortion, right?

If a fertilised egg has embedded itself in the womb and you are already pregnant, Levonelle One Step® does not work, so it is not like having an abortion nor is there any evidence that it will affect the foetus. If you know you are already pregnant, you should not take Levonelle One Step®.

You can only take emergency contraceptive pills once, right?

There is no medical reason why you can't use Levonelle One Step® as often as necessary, but you should try not to take it more than once in any one cycle as there is a greater likelihood that Levonelle One Step will disrupt the timing of your next period which may put you at a greater risk of pregnancy. Nor should you use it as a regular method of contraception because on it's own, it is not as reliable as regular, long-term methods of birth control and you would increase your chances of an unplanned pregnancy.