Emergency contraception is something that most sexually active heterosexual women end up using at least once in their life. No matter how well prepared we are, accidents happen; whether it’s a condom splitting or slipping off, a missed pill, or simply getting caught up in the heat of the moment.
The good news is that the morning after pill and the emergency IUD (coil) are now widely available in the UK from NHS centres, private clinics and high street pharmacies.
In a shocking turn of events, though, the most popular form of emergency contraception has been challenged by a new study, which claims that the morning after pill Levonelle is ineffective in women over a certain weight. Recent research by an American university has shown that emergency contraception containing levonorgestrel (the active ingredient in Levonelle) is less effective in women considered obese. More specifically, the amount of levonorgestrel in their bloodstream after taking the morning after pill was 50% lower than in women of a healthy weight.
The woman leading the study, Alison Edelman, spoke to Women’s Health about her findings, and discussed how doubling the dose of levonorgestrel for obese women seemed to be an effective solution to this problem. However, she felt she could not recommend this as an appropriate course of action until further research was carried out.
Misleading Information
While this new research is cause for concern, it’s important to bear a few things in mind. First of all, this study only looked at ten women – a very small sample size. Secondly, many press outlets are conflating Edelman’s results with an entirely different story which originated in 2013.
Three years ago, European morning after pill Norlevo hit headlines when it released packs printed with a new warning. According to this warning, Norlevo (which contains the same dosage of levonorgestrel as Levonelle) was:
- Less effective for women weighing 75kg (165 pounds/11st 11lb)
- Ineffective for women weighing over 80kg (176 pounds/12st 8lb)
This warning was later removed from packs, following advice from the European Medicines Agency which found that: "the data was [sic] not robust enough to conclude with certainty that contraceptive effect is reduced with increased bodyweight".
Despite this retraction, many press outlets reporting on Edelman’s research have incorporated Norlevo’s statistics into their stories – presumably in a bid to create better headlines! In actual fact, the weights suggested by Norlevo would not indicate obesity in the average woman.
Using the NHS BMI calculator, you’ll find that a 25-year-old woman who is 5’5’’ tall, weighs 165 pounds (11st 11lb) and is moderately active has a BMI of 27.4. This puts her firmly in the category of overweight – but not obese. Even a woman weighing 176 pounds (12st 8lb), who is similarly 5’5’’ tall and moderately active, has a BMI of 29.2. This is still classed as overweight, and is only just on the cusp of clinical obesity.
If Edelman’s research is to be trusted, a woman would have to have a BMI of over 30 for the morning after pill to be ineffective. Coupled with the other characteristics listed above, that works out to a weight of 181 pounds (12st 13lb).
Is it still safe to take the morning after pill?
Yes, it is still safe to take the Levonelle morning after pill as a means of preventing pregnancy. If you have had unprotected sex and you do not want to get pregnant, it is still better to use Levonelle than nothing at all – even if you are overweight. However, if your BMI does place you in the category of obese, and you are concerned that Levonelle may not work, you can always speak to a doctor about using an alternative form of emergency contraception.
There is currently no evidence to suggest that the efficacy of the morning after pill EllaOne is affected by weight. Unlike Levonelle, EllaOne can be taken up to five days after unprotected sex (Levonelle only has a window of three days).
You can also have the emergency IUD (coil) fitted up to five days after unprotected sex. This can only be done by a medical professional, but it is free from NHS clinics.