Emergency contraception (EC) is a way of preventing pregnancy after sex. More commonly referred to as “the morning after pill,” EC is post-coital hormonal contraception for use when another contraceptive method fails or no contraception was used. EC involves taking a certain dosage regimen of COCs or levonorgestrel-only pills within 72 hours after unprotected intercourse. EC is not abortion and is not an abortion pill, nor is it an effective contraceptive for on-going use. Put simply, if a woman is already pregnant when she takes EC, the pregnancy will not be disrupted. Like other contraceptives, EC offers another way to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and thereby reduce demand for abortion. However, because it is not as reliable as regular contraceptive methods (efficacy rates of only 75% compared with 99% for OCs), it is not recommended for use as a regular method. The term “emergency” was coined to convey that it is a method to be used only when your regular method fails.

Worldwide there is a lack of awareness among both service providers and consumers of pregnancy prevention options available to women once unprotected intercourse has occurred. PSI’s objective in social marketing EC is to decrease the incidence of unintended pregnancies and abortions by making EC an option available to women who have had unprotected intercourse and by creating an opportunity for women to initiate a regular, more reliable, method of contraception. PSI meets its objective by designing EC social marketing programs that:

1. Create awareness of EC through advertising and promotional efforts.
2. Build service provider knowledge of EC and how to appropriately administer it to their clients through training.
3. Make the product/intervention readily available through sales and distribution efforts.
4. Make the product/intervention affordable through subsidized pricing.
5. Make the product/intervention acceptable through public education and advocacy.

PSI has implemented EC programs in the United States, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Venezuela, and is planning programs in Paraguay.

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