When you have to turn to your doctor?
- If your period is more than 5 days late, or unusually heavy or light.
- If you are still worried that you are pregnant.
- If you have sudden or unusual pain in the lower abdomen and your period is late.
- If you have any concerns about your health or about the methods of contraception that is most suitable for you.
Ectopic pregnancy
A systematic review has concluded that emergency contraceptives containing Levonorgestrel (the active compound of POSTINOR) do not increase the chance that a pregnancy will be ectopic. Moreover, in common with all contraceptive methods, emergency contraception reduces the absolute risk of ectopic pregnancy by preventing pregnancy in general.
However, if your period starts more than 5 days later than expected, an „abnormal‟ bleeding occurs at that time or if you think that you might be pregnant, you should check whether you are pregnant by a pregnancy test. If you do become pregnant even after taking this medicine, it is important that you see your doctor. There is no evidence that POSTINOR will harm a baby that develops in your uterus/womb if you use POSTINOR as described. Nevertheless, your doctor may want to check that the pregnancy is not ectopic (where the baby develops somewhere outside the womb). This is especially important if you develop severe abdominal pain after taking POSTINOR or if you have previously had an ectopic pregnancy, Fallopian tube surgery or pelvic inflammatory disease. Ectopic pregnancy happens in about 0.25-1% of all pregnancies. So it is rare, but every woman has to know about this risk.
Symptoms of ectopic pregnancy:
- sudden or unusual pain in the lower abdomen,
- unusually light or late period.
If you have these symptoms, contact your doctor as soon as possible.