Brought to you by ellaOne.

Heard a few confusing things about the morning after pill? You're not the only one.

There are more myths floating around about the morning after pill than there are about Santa and the tooth fairy combined. Growing up in the 90's, sex education in Ireland was more about scaremongering than educating so we are going to debunk the 'myths' you've been told about the morning after pill and bring forth the facts.   1. It’s only for people who had unprotected sex The morning after pill is for use after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Maybe the condom broke or it slipped off during sex. Maybe you're taking birth control, but you missed pills this month. Birth control mishaps can easily happen and if you aren’t ready to become pregnant right now, then that's just as good a reason to use the morning after pill. 2. The morning after pill is like having an abortion The answer is just NO. The morning after pill DOES NOT cause an ‘emergency period’ or an abortion, it actually works by delaying your egg release (ovulation). This means that the sperm waiting in the fallopian tubes will be unable to meet an egg and fertilise it. This is similar to regular contraceptive pills, which mostly work by preventing egg release. If you are already pregnant, emergency contraception will not interrupt your pregnancy. 3.  It can lead to infertility There is no evidence to suggest that using the morning after pill will make you infertile. Emergency contraception has no effect on future fertility. Actually, your fertility can come back very quickly so emergency contraception will not protect you from pregnancy if you have unprotected sex again in the days after you take it. If you want to have sex after using emergency contraception, make sure you use a barrier method of contraception, like a condom, until your next period. 4. You need to take it within 24 hrs It is important to remember that the sooner you use emergency contraception after sex, the more effective it will be. But, you can take ellaOne up to 5 days (120 hours) after you have experienced a contraceptive failure or alternative emergency contraceptive pills can be taken within 3 days (72 hours) of unprotected sex. 5. You can only get it in an emergency The morning after pill is available over the counter, directly from your pharmacist, without a prescription.  You can also get emergency contraception from your GP, family planning clinic, walk-in centre or out of hours service. And good news, from the 1^st July 2017 this year, changes to the General Medical Card Scheme in Ireland mean that the morning after pill is now also available in pharmacy for women with a medical card, without a prescription.   6. You can only ever take it once   Brought to you by ellaOne. ellaOne is an emergency contraceptive pill that is available from pharmacies without a prescription.  No other morning after pill is more effective at preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex. ellaOne consists of one tablet which should be taken as soon as possible, but no later than 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex or contraceptive failure. Each tablet of ellaOne contains 30 mg ulipristal acetate. Always read the label.