title: Emergency contraception: Focus on the facts.
abstract: Significant progress on contraception, and in particular emergency contraception, has been made in the past decade. Emergency contraception was first introduced as a stand-alone prescription in 1998, and the interaction of politics and medicine meant a tumultuous course to the drug becoming available over the counter. This article reviews how emergency contraception works, the effectiveness of different methods, pros and cons, and the history of emergency contraception.
authors.affiliation: Deanna Bridge Najera practices emergency medicine in Westminster, Md., and at a community mental health clinic in Hanover, Pa. She also works seasonally for a migrant farmworker program in Gettysburg, Pa. The author has disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
authors.forename: Deanna Bridge
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Najera
mesh_terms: D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods; D044363:Contraception, Postcoital / Q000379:methods*; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007434:Intrauterine Devices; D016912:Levonorgestrel / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000077239:Meloxicam; D015735:Mifepristone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009649:Norpregnadienes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D034445:Ovulation Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D013843:Thiazines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D009649:Norpregnadienes; D013843:Thiazines; D013844:Thiazoles; D015735:Mifepristone; D016912:Levonorgestrel; D000077239:Meloxicam; C555622:ulipristal acetate