Accidents happen. Women are at risk for unplanned pregnancy due to contraceptive failure or unprotected intercourse. Information about its over-the-counter availability and education concerning the safety and efficacy should be introduced into your patients' standard of care.

The talking points below may help you answer your patients' questions:

• Plan B^® is available without a prescription for consumers age 18 and over. Government-issued identification is required for proof of age at the time of purchase.
  
  
• Plan B^® is available by prescription only for women under 17 and younger.
  
  
• Plan B^® is an FDA-approved emergency contraceptive that can prevent a pregnancy after unprotected intercourse, contraceptive failure (for example, if a woman's partner's condom slipped or if a woman missed taking birth control pills), or sexual assault.
  
  
• Plan B^® is not the same as RU-486 (the abortion pill). Plan B^® works in a similar way to regular birth control pills to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. If a woman takes Plan B^® after she is already pregnant, it will not affect her pregnancy.
  
  
• Plan B^® contains 2 tablets. Women should take the first tablet as soon as possible within 72 hours (3 days) of unprotected intercourse. The second tablet should be taken 12 hours after the first one.
  
  
• The sooner a woman takes Plan B^®, the more effective it is. When taken as directed, Plan B^® reduces a woman's chance of pregnancy by up to 89%.
  
  
• Plan B^® should not be used as regular birth control because it is not as effective as routine birth control methods.
  
  
• Plan B^® does not protect women from HIV infection (the virus that causes AIDS) or any other sexually transmitted disease (STD).
  
  
• Plan B^® works in a similar way to regular birth control pills. It prevents pregnancy (mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary), and may also prevent the fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg). Plan B^® may also work by preventing it from attaching to the uterus (womb). Plan B^® will not affect a fertilized egg already attached to the uterus.
  
  
• Women may experience nausea when taking Plan B^®. Inform them to call your office immediately if they vomit within one hour of taking a Plan B^® tablet, to see if they should repeat the dose.
  
  
• If a woman experiences severe abdominal pain after taking Plan B^®, she may have an ectopic pregnancy and should seek immediate medical attention.

Encourage your patients to visit the Consumers section of this website or call the 24-hour, toll-free hotline below for more information on Plan B^® and emergency contraception.

Patients may also use this hotline to get healthcare professional support and order patient education materials (which can be downloaded from this website; see Information and Support).

       1-800-330-1271