Usually, the possibility of getting pregnant after engaging in unprotected sex can be as high as 30 percent.
It is however dependent on the period in your menstrual cycle when you had sex as well as other factors.
Therefore, if you are a lady who does not make use of any contraceptive or have experienced the failure of contraceptive such as breaking of the condom, going for the post-coital contraception, in some case known as emergency contraception “or “morning after” offers you a second chance.
Furthermore, these contraceptives are ideal for women who have experienced unplanned intercourse, and this includes rape or coerced sex.
Kinds of postinor in Nigeria
In Nigeria, there are two kinds of postinor available, and these are the postinor 1 as well as postinor 2. The postinor 1 comes with ten tablets for every sachet whereas postinor 2, just as implied by the name, has two tablets per sachet.
These two are emergency contraceptives pills which are accessible in Nigeria and present within them is a chemical known as levonogestrel. Additionally, present in postinor 2 is 750 micrograms of levonogestrel plus other ingredients such as talc, gelatin as well as potato starch.
Taking postinor
The sooner you take these emergency contraceptive pills, the higher the chances that you will not get pregnant, thus taking them earlier is advisable.
Nevertheless, because postinor is often referred to as the “day after pills “or “morning after” does not mean that you have to wait until the following day to take these pills.
So, you should take these pills either immediately after engaging in unprotected sex or within three or 72 hours after your sexual encounter.
How to Take the Postinor Pills?
Currently, in Nigeria, there exists plenty of misleading information circulating about how you should take these emergency contraceptive pills.
There are ten pills in the postinor 1 sachet, but you need to only take one pill either immediately after or within 72 hours after engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse.
However, for postinor 2, you should take the first emergency pill immediately after the sexual intercourse and the second pill precisely after 12 hours.
Also, you can decide to take the two tablets all at once, and this is advantageous as it safeguards that you do not forget to take the second emergency pill 12 hours later.
In case you vomit within three hours after you have taken postinor, you should take another pill. Nonetheless, if you vomit more than three hours later, you do not need to bother yourself by taking another emergency contraceptive pill.
How Effective are the Postinor Emergency Contraceptive Pills?
Usually, postinor 2 is more effective at ensuring you do not get pregnant in comparison to postinor 1 as it is an improvement of postinor 1.
Furthermore, the postinor 2 dependent on the time of usage is approximately 85 percent effective.
Therefore, if you take it within the first 24 hours, it will prevent around 95 percent of unwanted pregnancies.
Nevertheless, this percentage starts reducing when you take this emergency contraceptive between 48 and 72 hours after engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse.
Where in Nigeria you Can Find Postinor?
Both postinor 2, and postinor 1 are accessible in a majority of the health centers, shops plus private and public hospitals across the numerous states in Nigeria. Moreover, these emergency contraceptives are available on Konga, Jiji, and Jumia.
You, however, need to ensure that you purchase them from well-established pharmacy stores to prevent being given adulterated or fake postinor pills.
The Price of Postinor in Nigeria
You might be wondering what the price of postinor in Nigeria is, and this usually depends on which option you buy. However, neither postinor 1 nor postinor 2 are expensive.
Usually, the price of postinor 1 in Nigeria is 250 naira for every sachet, but if you opt to buy a tablet instead, you will have to pay about 30 to 50 naira per tablet.
On the other hand, postinor 2 will cost you 300 naira in Nigeria per sachet. Nonetheless, you should know that these prices do vary, that is more or less with this dependent on the hospital, pharmacy as well as the location you are buying these emergency contraceptive pills.
When You Should Not Take Postinor?
Both the postinor 2 and 1 emergency contraceptive pills usually are abused by women and ladies in Nigeria.
So, discussed below are some vital things you should avoid when using postinor 1 or 2;
- You must never take postinor emergency contraceptive pills when you are pregnant even though they do not affect your pregnancy.
- In a single menstrual cycle, you should never use these emergency contraceptive pills more than once.
- Utilizing either postinor 2 or 1 as an abortion which it is not.
- You should not use these emergency contraceptive pills as a long-term contraceptive option. Instead, you should go for IUD, mini pills, as well as injectables which are all better picks for long-term contraceptives whereas the postinor is essentially an emergency contraceptive pill.
- Never use the postinor as a medication for gaining weight, so if you wish to gain weight, eat properly.
- These emergency contraceptive pills do not safeguard you from getting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
- Before you start using postinor, you need to first consult a physician to especially if you have certain conditions like hypertension, migraine, asthma, liver disease, heart infection, a previous stroke among many others. It is because the effectiveness of this emergency contraceptive pill diminishes due to the mediations of the illnesses mentioned above plus it is known to aggravate these infections.
The Side Effects of Using Postinor
Similar to any other drug, there are side effects of using postinor. Furthermore, these side effects are worsened if you misuse this drug and below are side effects which you might experience;
- You start gaining weight
- Either bleeding or spotting
- Tenderness of your breasts
- Having a scanty or heavy menstrual flow
- Termination of your normal menstrual cycle
- Suffering from both vomiting as well as nausea
- Feeling fatigued, dizziness plus headaches
