ellaOne® is an oral emergency contraceptive pill (also known as the morning after pill) containing ulipristal acetate.
No other morning after pill is more effective than ellaOne®. If you have had unprotected sex, taking ellaOne® can prevent unplanned pregnancy. ellaOne® can be effective for up to 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex has taken place, but like all morning after pills it is more effective the sooner you take it.
ellaOne® is intended for use in the case of emergency it is not meant to be a replacement for a regular method of contraception.

Condom split? Missed pill? Caught in the moment? Whatever the reason, realising that you’ve had unprotected sex and could be at risk of pregnancy is never a fun moment. Don’t feel alone – plenty of people have been in this situation before.
To reduce the risk of unplanned pregnancy, it is wise to seek emergency contraception as soon as possible.

ellaOne® works by delaying ovulation so that any sperm in the female reproductive system cannot find an egg to fertilise, and so no pregnancy can occur.

When you have unprotected sex, sperm travel from the vagina, through the cervix and up the fallopian tubes where they wait for an egg. ellaOne® helps prevent or delay ovulation until all the sperm have died (5 days), so there is no egg for them to fertilise and no pregnancy can take place.

It is very important that you take ellaOne® as soon as possible after unprotected sex for it to be most effective.

If ovulation has already taken place, no morning after pill will be effective. It is very hard to know when you are ovulating as your cycle can change from month to month. By taking ellaOne® as soon as possible after unprotected sex, you reduce the risk of ovulating in that time.

The morning after pill only works by preventing ovulation, it can not cause an abortion and it will not have any effect in a case where an egg has already been fertilised.

No other morning after pill is more effective than ellaOne® .

In a clinical trial, ellaOne® has been shown to reduce the rate of pregnancy to just 9 in 1000 when taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex.

The Irish government introduced a free contraception service for women and people aged 17 to 26 years inclusive. This means you can access your primary GP for free and receive free medication in the pharmacy.

As smartscripts is a private online doctor service unfortunately we don’t get reimbursed so we still charge a €20 fee to complete our online consultation but the emergency contraception pill will be available free of charge in the pharmacy.