Only two forms of birth control the morning after are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Both hormones are taken orally as pills: levonorgestrel (Plan B One-Step and other brands, available without a prescription) and ulipristal acetate (Ella, available by prescription). Observational studies suggest that a non-hormonal copper intrauterine device (ParaGard) may also be effective.
Now researchers have found that another type of IUD containing the hormone levonorgestrel (Liletta and other brands) works just as well as the copper IUD, and possibly even better than the FDA-approved oral pregnancy prevention pills.
The study in the New England Journal of Medicine tested the copper IUD in a randomized study against intrauterine levonorgestrel. The researchers recruited 638 women to seek emergency contraception at three family planning clinics in Utah and randomly assigned them to one device or another.
After one month, there were no pregnancies in women using the copper IUD and one in those using the hormonal IUD. The researchers calculate that the incidence of pregnancy with intrauterine levonorgestrel is 0.3 percent, compared with 1.4 to 2.6 percent with oral contraceptives.
None of the IUDs are now approved for emergency contraception, but the study’s lead author, Dr. David K. Turok, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah, expects professional guidelines to take them up soon.
“The main thing is that this is another option that can be very attractive,” he said. “Now we have a well-designed and conducted study that shows it can be used.”
