Plan B is underused: maybe behind the counter is one reason

A new study indicates that although the number of women who have used the “morning-after pill” — officially named Plan B — has more than doubled, relatively few women are actually using this emergency contraceptive (EC). Such a remedy is used to prevent unintended pregnancy when contraception is not used, or has failed, such as when a condom breaks. In order to provide sufficient protection, it must generally be taken within 72 hours of the event. Progestin-only emergency contraceptives such as Plan B work by preventing ovulation (the release of an egg from an ovary). It will have no effect if taken after a fertilized egg is already implanted.

Publishing in the journal Fertility and Sterility, researchers from the Guttmacher Institute in New York found that only 10 percent of women ages 15 to 44 reported using Plan B. In 2006, Plan B was approved for “behind-the-counter” sale, indicating it was available for purchase without a prescription. Then, in 2009, the age restriction was lowered to 17. Therefore, study author Megan L. Kavanaugh believes that use of EC “still seems relatively low, given that it’s easy to access. So there’s room for improvement.”

One of the reasons for the low numbers could be that the proportion of women who said their doctors had discussed EC with them had not changed in either study period. Just three percent had received such counseling in the past year. “The hope was that increasing the availability of ECs would lower the national rate of unplanned pregnancy. Despite an uptick in the use of Plan B, this has not happened. I would encourage physicians to discuss ECs and all other contraceptive options with all of their sexually active patients in order to decrease the number of unwanted pregnancies — this needs to be addressed before the patients become sexually active. Further, why not let anyone who needs it have easy access — why ‘behind the counter,’ a relic of the days when Plan B was stigmatized? Put it out next to the condoms and early pregnancy tests.”