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How Effective Is Marvelon Contraceptive In Preventing Pregnancy?

Posted on Thu, 3 Mar 2016

Question: I have a concern. I had unprotected sex on XXXXXXX 22nd & XXXXXXX 25th. With regards to the unprotected sex which I had on XXXXXXX 25th, my partner did not ejaculate inside. It was done basically outside.
My periods date was on XXXXXXX 15th and my cycle falls correctly every month (28-30 days). With the unprotected sex which I had on XXXXXXX 22nd & 25th , will I get pregnant? I had taken 4 tablets of ‘Marvelon’ tablets on XXXXXXX 23rd and 3 tablets of ‘Marvelon’ on XXXXXXX 26th fearing that I may fall pregnant.
Please advise if there is any risk or chance of pregnancy.
Thanks in advance.

Answered by Dr. Zenab Tambawala (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
it is possible

Detailed Answer:
Hi there,
Welcome to HCM,

Sorry to say, but yes there is a chance of pregnancy.

The Marvelon that you have used is not effective enough to prevent pregnancy.
It would put your risk of getting pregnancy at 10%.

There are emergency contraceptives available, but Marvelon is not used for the same as its use can prevent pregnancy by only 88%. The best medication to use for the same is Levonorgestrel 1.5 mg single dose which is 99% effective if taken within 72 hours of the sex.

Also levonorgetrol can be repeated in the same cycle if unprotected sexual exposure occurs again and is as effective.

however, since you have a regular period and the date of sex was in the day 8 and 11 of your cycle, it is likely that you are not pregnant.

So the next option that you should consider is to do a urine pregnancy test on the expected day of your next period that is febraury 12-14. If that turns out to be negative, then you should consider a reliable method of contraception such as Depo injection which is taken every 3 monthly or intrauterine devices. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further

I am sorry if I have increased your anxiety, but it is important that you are aware of the facts. I did not mean to scare you.

Hope this help.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Naveen Kumar

Follow up: Dr. Zenab Tambawala (14 minutes later)

Thanks Doctor.

I stay in UAE and hence emergency contraceptive is hard to get here. A doctor here only told me 'Marvelon' tablets in high dosage would do. Hence I consumed that.

I have heard that having sex on 8 or 11 day of cycle will not cause pregnancy. But yet I'm tensed. But is there a natural way to decrease chances of pregnancy? Please advise.

Thanks in advance.

Answered by Dr. Zenab Tambawala (14 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
wait till 12 feb to do test

Detailed Answer:
Hi there,

Good to know you live in UAE, I also practice in Dubai, UAE.

Yes, chances of pregnancy are less when sexual intercourse occurs on the 11 and 8 th day, but rarely early ovulation or erratic ovulation is possible.

There is no natural way to decrease pregnancy risk, but realistically the chances of your pregnancy are very low, yes, present but low.

Some women think eating papaya and pineapple can help, but there is no scientific evidence for the same.

What is more worrying for me is that you had the Marvelon on 22 XXXXXXX and inspite of knowing that abortion facilities and emergency contraception are not available you unfortunately had sex on 25 XXXXXXX as well without protection, (though ejaculated outside there can be contamination).

The laws in here are very strict, I really do hope you are not pregnant in this cycle, and by God willing you shouldn't be.

But I want to seriously recommend to you to consider a long term contraceptive method to decrease such anxiety and fear in your life in the future.

Please do not take my advice in the wrong way. I want to only wish well for you but please consider long term contraception seriously and as soon as you get your next period.

Hope you take this positively.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj