What happens after I take an emergency contraceptive?

If you’re lucky enough to have never needed an emergency contraceptive or the “morning after” pill, you may be unsure of what it does to your body.

In principle, it cuts down the chances of a pregnancy, but how does it do that and what bodily reactions can you expect after taking the pill?

Will you throw up?

Bleed?

Cry?

Gain weight?

As someone who has been unfortunate enough to have needed it thrice in her life, I have had the chance to see three completely different reactions to the pill.

Contraception methods involve interruptions to the process of conception at any one of three different stages– ovulation, fertilisation, and implantation.

Morning-after pills are typically hormone-based medications that interfere with the process of ovulation to help ensure that there is no egg available for possible fertilization. In the event of unprotected sex or unforeseen condom mishaps, these pills can interrupt your hormone cycle within a 72 hour window to prevent pregnancy.

The first time I did, I braced myself with all the painkillers, hot water bags and fruit juices that I could find. And nothing happened. I had a headache a few days after the pill but that could just as easily have been from the stress of having unprotected sex (with a very dismissive partner).

The second time I needed one, I had no time to waste on panic and anxiety. It also helped that I had a much better partner this time around. But within 12 hours of taking the pill, I felt groggy, heavy and completely incapacitated at work. No amount of water or coffee could keep me up and eventually, my best option was to call it a day and sleep through the heaviness of the pill.

The third time was not forgettable at all. Unlike the previous times where I made the mistake of not tracking when in my cycle I needed the pill, this time it was right before my ovulation. I popped the pill with total confidence because it was the weekend. I had all the time in the world to sleep it off and wouldn’t have to explain my zombie state at professional or social events.

And for the first 2 days after the pill, I was right. I felt nothing, my energy was the same as usual.

On day 3, I passed out at 2pm like it was 2am.

On day 4, I cried and there was no reason behind it. My partner just hadn’t spoken to me for a few hours and it felt like hell.

On day 5, I passed a heavy, non-bloody discharge for over an hour.

And on day 6, there was bleeding. This was only 11 days after my previous period. The pain was unbearable, and the bleeding went from spotting to heavy in no time. I could barely stand, eat or look at my partner because any amount of interaction with the world felt daunting.

Days 7-9 were no different. I continued to bleed heavily and struggled with fatigue and exhaustion. By day 10, the bleeding had slowed down but it was clear my cycle had completely reset. The hormone-based pill had nudged my body to give up on its egg before any unwanted fertilisation could take place and my body’s response had been to flush it all out and hope for the best.

Why had the responses been so starkly different each time?

Your guess may be just as good as mine.

It could be because I had taken the pill during different stages of my cycle after each incident. It could also be a general variation in my hormonal, dietary and emotional stability, leading to differences in how my body processed this singular but heavy dose of emergency contraception.

What matters though is that the pill has been successful for me each time I took it, and no amount of bleeding or absence of it served as proof of the pill working. Many of us read horror stories about emergency contraception online or find their extensive list of potential side effects extremely daunting. I have had friends who found the potential side effects so scary, they took their chances with counting days of their cycle to calculate the odds of ovulation and suffered extreme anxiety until their next period finally came.

While these fears are real, it’s important to notice how much social stigmas prevent us from seeking the care we need. We want to believe that ‘good girls’ simply don’t have these moments of having to take an emergency pill.

But what is ‘being good’ anyway when you’re just 19 and your boyfriend convinces you that you’d have sex with him to show him your true commitment, then refuses to wear a condom because it’s too ‘tight for him’?

What about when your partner does wear a condom but it slips out after he finishes inside you and is trying to pull himself out?

And why did so many of my friends feel like it was better to risk a pregnancy and worry about a possible abortion later than to show up to college or the workplace with nausea or bleeding from these pills?

Why was the thought of risking a pregnancy more comfortable than the thought of dealing with a nosy chemist or having your parents find a contraceptive wrapper in your dustbin?

While it is understandable and justified to worry about the impacts of an emergency pill, there is also no shame in needing one. We shouldn’t have to prove our worth or value all the time to seek a basic form of healthcare after an accident takes place.

Contraception =/= immorality.