An Ayrshire mum was left stunned after her emergency contraceptive didn’t work following a one-night stand at a wedding.
The morning after pill is an emergency contraception that has been licensed in the UK for more than 40 years. If taken within a few days of unprotected sex, or where regular contraception failed, it is 97-99 per cent effective at preventing pregnancy.
But what about the 1-3 per cent? Ayrshire mum Holly Firth falls into that category and was left “shocked” when she realised the morning after pill hadn’t worked for her.
Holly, 29, had a fling at a wedding last summer and took the morning after pill the day after her romantic liaison. She “thought no more of it” until she felt sick from the smell of an air freshener at her work and took a pregnancy test.
A few weeks later, she found out she was pregnant and, on February 27, 2025, her twin girls, Charlotte and Rose Firth, were born via planned c-section.
Holly believes the pregnancy was “meant to be” and now “can’t imagine her life without the twins”. Despite being delighted at the outcome, the single mum was initially shocked when her contraception failed.
This was because Holly didn’t realise that she had already ovulated before her wedding one-night stand, something that can make the morning after pill ineffective.
Emergency contraception is “all about timing”, according to the experts at Clue, a period tracking app and menstrual health resource.
The morning after pill should be taken as soon as possible after you have unprotected sex, in order to give it the best chance of being effective.
If taken right after sex, it can prevent you from ovulating if you haven’t already started, but if your hook-up comes after ovulation then the emergency contraception won’t be effective, according to Clue.
As mentioned, the morning after pill needs to be taken soon after the romantic liaison in order to be effective. There are two pills currently available on the NHS in Scotland; Levonelle and ellaOne.
While ellaOne can be taken up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex, the limit for Levonelle is three days, or 72 hours.
But no matter which emergency contraception you get, you must take it within the allotted limit or it may not be effective.
Either pill can make you feel sick, dizzy, or tired, according to NHS Inform. And if you vomit within two hours of taking the tablet, it also may not work.
A fourth reason for the morning after pill failing is body type. Studies have suggested that the emergency contraceptive is less effective for people with a BMI of 30 or above.
According to Clue, this is due to fat tissue impacting levels of reproductive hormones, while studies that look at the effectiveness of birth control often didn’t include women with a higher BMI.
If you are taking other medication, this may also stop emergency contraception working. Some drugs and herbal products have an impact on the effectiveness of the morning after pill.
If this is the case, you should check the information leaflet with your morning after pill to make sure your tablets are compatible.
