Current Issues in Emergency Contraception: An Overview for Providers

Emergency contraception has the potential to greatly reduce the number of unintended pregnancies occurring each year in the United States. Emergency contraception is a safe and effective intervention to which all women should have easy access in the event of an act of unprotected intercourse. Methods of emergency contraception include combined hormone oral contraceptive pills, progestin-only oral contraceptive pills, a dedicated progestin-only emergency contraceptive product, and insertion of a copper intrauterine device. Barriers exist to the increased use of emergency contraception, including the prescription-only status of all of the methods and lack of accurate knowledge on the part of health care providers and consumers. This article provides an overview of the clinical management of emergency contraception.