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Q: 

Bleeding after emergency contraception

By Anonymous December 8, 2009 - 10:09am
 
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I had unprotected sex with my partner of four and half years on Thanksgiving night. To be safe, I used emergency contraception two days later since neither of us want children at this point. I began bleeding several days afterward. I had cramping and the bleeding lasted about 4-5 days. Should I assume this is a period or do I expect that my actual period will come next week as it would have normally had I not used emergency contraception?

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I wish I could provide you with a definitive answer, but it really depends on many factors. Many women will bleed between periods after taking EC (called "breakthrough bleeding"), since the EC is essentially a "mega dose" of hormones.

What you experienced could have been breakthrough bleeding or could have been a menstrual period, depending on where you were in your cycle. Regardless of what type of bleeding it was, you may still have "another" period or experience some bleeding during your next expected period, so any definitive answer would not help anyways...it may take a cycle for your body to get back to its normal menstrual period. (No harm is done, so don't worry!)

The best advice is be prepared for a period. If your next period does not start as expected, and you are worried about how to know if you are pregnant, you can take a HPT about 2 weeks after the unprotected sex "episode".

Does this help?

December 8, 2009 - 2:23pm
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