When should one or the other be used?

The morning-after pill must be taken whenever unprotected sexual intercourse has occurred or when a regular contraceptive method has failed and the woman does not wish to become pregnant, and its use must be seen as an act of responsibility. Morning-after pills do not interrupt an ongoing pregnancy, but prevent potential pregnancy.

In contrast, the abortion pill is used in the voluntary termination of pregnancy and is a medication method that, together with surgical abortion, leads to the abortion of an already ongoing pregnancy. It is used when a woman, duly informed, requests the termination of a pregnancy and there are no medical or legal contraindications to carrying out the procedure.

What are the mechanisms of action of the two pills?

The morning-after pill is a single oral dose and acts by inhibiting/delaying ovulation, trying to prevent eggs and sperm from meeting in the female reproductive system and, thus, fertilisation.

In Portugal, in medical termination of pregnancy, two medications are used in combination; one that acts to block progesterone receptors (the action of this hormone is decisive for the progression of pregnancy) and another that causes uterine contractions, facilitating the expulsion of the embryonic sac.


What is the access and dispensation of both pills?

The morning-after pill is freely available in pharmacies, without the need for a prescription. It should be taken as soon as possible after unprotected sexual intercourse or contraceptive failure.

In the case of abortion medication, this option is for exclusive use in hospitals and can only be administered in public or private health establishments authorised by the Ministry of Health to carry out pregnancy terminations.

Side effects of both pills

The morning-after pill may occasionally cause mild and transient side effects, such as headache, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain, which, as a general rule, do not require any treatment and disappear after a few hours. The morning-after pill does not affect future fertility. In fact, the return to fertility can be immediate, so the woman, after taking the morning-after pill, must use a barrier method for all subsequent sexual relations until the next menstrual period, in addition to starting or resuming regular contraception.

On the contrary, the medication used to terminate a pregnancy causes symptoms related to the termination process itself: bleeding, pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, and hypotension.


Efficiency

Morning-after pills are not all the same or 100% effective and should not be used as a substitute for regular contraception, but rather as a second chance to avoid pregnancy when something goes wrong with regular contraception.


For more information then please call Grupo HPA Saude on (+351) 282 420 400.