My wife got her Depo shot three days after intercourse. Will it prevent pregnancy?

Question

Hello doctor,

My question is if my spouse has taken the Plan B pill on the day we had intercourse, but it was also the day she may have been ovulating, will the plan B work, or will it not work at all because she may have been ovulating already? And if so, she got her Depo shot three days later, so would that have any effect on the probability of her getting pregnant?

Thank you so much.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Though emergency contraception by Levonorgestrel is almost 95 to 97% effective if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse. It is always prudent to get a blood test ( Beta hCG levels) done to confirm pregnancy if periods are missed by a week. Herein the Depo shot taken three days later will not be of much help. For understanding, mechanism of action of Levonorgestrel (Plan B), it is imperative to understand the detailed physiology of the menstrual cycle along with knowledge of variations in specific hormone levels FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone), LH (luteinizing hormone)) and how does a shot of Levonorgestrel help fool the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis to alter the cycle and thereby conception. As far as ovulation is concerned, if there is no ovulation, there are no chances of an intrauterine pregnancy. However, the theoretical possibility of an adnexal ectopic persists. I hope this helps.