22 Apr 2025 - Service Adjustment of FPAHK Yuen Long Birth Control Clinic (G/F) and Yuen Long FPAHK Anita Mui Health Centre (1/F) from 12 May 2025 (Monday)
31 Dec 2024 - Opening Hours of FPA Birth Control Clinics from January to December, 2025
14 Nov 2024 - The Association is NOT the service provider of FREE HPV Vaccination Catch-up Programme launched by The Department of Health for eligible female Hong Kong residents born between 2004 and 2008.
Emergency contraception is a way of preventing pregnancy. If you had sex without using contraception, missed your pills, or if you had a contraceptive accident (such as a broken or slipped condom), call on your doctor or visit Birth Control Clinics or Youth Health Care Centres of The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong for emergency contraception to help you prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Emergency contraceptive methods must be used within 120 hours of unprotected sex. All emergency contraceptive methods are safe and effective for most women. If you are already pregnant, emergency contraception cannot cause abortion.
Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECPs) must be taken within 72 or 120 hours of unprotected sex. A copper-bearing intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) must be inserted within 5 days of unprotected sex.
Emergency Contraceptive Pills
What are Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECPs)?
There are two types of pills: levonorgestrel pill (progestogen only) or ulipristal acetate pill (a progesterone receptor modulator). Comparison between two types of pills are as follows:
| Levonorgestrel (progestogen only) | Ulipristal acetate (selective progesterone receptor modulator) | |
| When should I take it? | Up to 72 hours after unprotected sex | Up to 120 hours after unprotected sex |
| Failure rate | 2-3% | 1-2% |
| Will the intake time affect drug efficacy? | Efficacy decreases with time | Same efficacy within 120 hours |
| Side effects | Headache, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain, back pain and breast tenderness | |
| Any effect on the fetus in case ECP fails? | No adverse effect | Little data |
| I am breastfeeding, can I use it? | Yes | No breastfeeding for 7 days after drug use |
| Can I use hormonal contraception within the same cycle? | Yes, efficacy of hormonal contraception is not affected | No, efficacy of hormonal contraception is reduced |
| Special precaution | Concomitant use of levonorgestrel (progestogen only) and ulipristal acetate (selective progesterone receptor modulator) within the same cycle is not recommended | |
How do ECPs work?
ECPs will either stop or delay the release of an ovum. Pregnancy occurs only after implantation. Once this has happened, ECPs are no longer effective and will not induce an abortion.
How effective are ECPs?
ECPs prevent most pregnancies but they are not 100% effective. The treatment fails in approximately 2% of women using ECPs correctly. If a woman used ECPs frequently, her chance of becoming pregnant would be much higher than if she used regular contraceptives. This is why ECPs are not a substitute for regular contraceptives.
Please note: Emergency contraceptive pills can only prevent pregnancy after single unprotected sex and there is no further protection if you have subsequent unprotected sex. Use a regular contraceptive method to prevent pregnancy in the future.
Are ECPs safe?
ECPs should be prescribed by a health care provider. Most women can use ECPs safely without adverse health effects. Health care providers have safely prescribed ECPs since the mid-1970s. You should consult your health care provider before using ECPs to find out whether there is any reason you cannot use them.
Do ECPs cause side effects?
Sometimes ECPs can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain, back pain or breast tenderness. These side effects generally do not last for more than 24 hours.
What should I do after using ECPs?
You will not see any immediate signs showing whether or not the ECPs worked. Your menstrual period should come on time or a few days early or late. If your period is more than a week later than expected, or if you have any cause for concern, see your health care provider as soon as possible.
If the ECPs do not work, and I become pregnant, will the fetus be normal?
Based on available information, there is no reason to believe that the pregnancy would be abnormal or the fetus would be hurt by using progestogen-only pill, although less data are available on the health of the fetus / newborn after ulipristal acetate exposure.
How do I use ECPs?
The levonorgestrel ECP is a single-dose pill to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex or contraceptive accident, the earlier the better. The ulipristal acetate is also a single tablet, which has to be taken within 120 hours of unprotected sex or contraceptive accident.
For Emergency Use Only
The ECP is not recommended to be used as a substitute of regular contraceptives, as it is less effective than the regular contraceptives (e.g. oral pills, injectables, IUCDs, sterilization, etc.). You should consult your health care provider who can help you choose a method that suits you best.
Other Emergency Contraceptive Methods: Copper "T" Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD)
A copper "T" IUCD can be inserted by a trained health care provider within 5 days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. This method is very effective with a failure rate of 0.09%.
It may cause lower abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding after insertion. Your next period should come at the expected time, but the flow may be heavier and with more pain in some users, although most users can adapt without major problem.
Because an "emergency" IUCD can be kept as as a regular contraceptive for its usual duration (5 or 10 years), it may be an option for women who want a long-acting contraceptive method.
Emergency Contraception and Sexually Transmissible Diseases
ECPs and the IUCD do not protect against AIDS and other sexually transmissible diseases. If you are worried about whether you may have been infected with AIDS or other sexually transmissible diseases, consult your health care provider about further tests.
