Tag Archives: ella

Conclusion Of 2016 Video Series On ‘The Morning After Pill’ – Emergency Contraceptives – All Around The World

Contraceptives Reproductive Health No Comments

Last year SuzyKnew! took you all around the world where lovely ladies of color live to see what types and brands of emergency contraceptives we could find.

We visited 10 cities across Africa, Europe, the U.S. and the Caribbean. SuzyKnew! visited Hyattsville, MD, USA, Hilton Head, SC, USA, Lagos, Nigeria, Paris, France, Strasbourg, France, Zurich, Switzerland, Johannesburg, South Africa, Cotonou, Benin, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Luanda, Angola.

We mainly found Norlevo and Ella One – especially in Europe. In the States Plan B and Postinor prevailed. In the U.S., there was usually one brand name product available and a generic but one of the products was usually stocked out.  Europe was better stocked and places like Cotonou, Port-au-Prince and Luanda had a wider selection at least at the pharmacies SuzyKnew! visited.

Prices were as low as one or two dollars in places like Lagos, Nigeria to $50 in Zurich, Switzerland. Prices were the highest in the U.S. and Switzerland and lowest in Africa and the Caribbean. Most pharmacies didn’t mind the attention or question.  Pharmacy workers in the U.S. were the most uncomfortable when they saw me with my cell phone video taping.

The good news, ladies, is we do have choices out there, if we’re out there traveling. But, some pharmacies in Africa and the Caribbean were offering products at suspiciously low prices with questionable names and labeling. So, select a product you’re familiar with when possible.

In 2017, SuzyKnew! will start a new video series. We want to interview you on the sexual or reproductive health topic that concerns you the most. Email us at SuzyKnew@suzyknew.com to get an exclusive interview.

Keep it sexy!

Keep it healthy!

SuzyKnew!

Walmart Doesn’t Want To Talk About The Morning After Pill Available In One Of Its South Carolina Stories

Contraceptives Reproductive Health No Comments

This time SuzyKnew! went south to the Carolina lowcountry looking for emergency contraceptives (EC) . While we would have loved to have visited with our sisters on Gullah Island we were based closer to the mainland on Hilton Head Island and went to the Walmart.

We found two brands of the Morning After Pill in the South Carolina Walmart, Plan B One Step at $46.87 and Gedeon Richter’s generic version Take Action for $34.78. Like the other U.S. pharmacy we visited in Hyattsville, MD (Rite Aid), Walmart had only one of the brands available.  Take Action was on the shelf while the branded EC was stocked out.  And, no Ella, which works better for us curvy (read heavier) ladies of color, but requires a prescription in the U.S. so you can’t see it out in the open. Also like Rite Aid, Walmart did not want to be a part of this video and essentially ran away when the taping started.  Pharmacists and pharmacy workers haven’t been so camera shy in non-U.S. places. In Paris, Lagos, Strasbourg, Zurich and Johannesburg, the pharmacists were curious and didn’t mind being a part of the video.  When I asked questions some saw me taping and actually spoke up so their voices would be captured on tape.

So, don’t get any ideas that pharmacy workers in the U.S. are more comfortable talking about emergency contraceptives than workers in other countries. SuzyKnew!’s experience says that’s just not so…

But, like Rite Aid, Walmart did say they would answer any questions we had.  But, I have to jump in and say I saw teen couples struggling to find emergency contraceptives when I was at Rite Aid and too embarrassed to ask (you know SuzyKnew! helped them out!) where as in overseas pharmacies, you just step right up to the counter – including Johannesburg, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (coming soon) and Cotonou, Benin (coming soon) and the pharmacy people tell you like it is.  Not a lot of privacy though, I have to say…

But, South Carolina’s prices were cheaper – at least at Walmart – than they were in Maryland. That could be a function of the pharmacy chain or the south vs. the north.

SuzyKnew!’s next locale: Haiti!

Photo courtesy of queenquet.com

Mother’s Day Is Over. But, How Do You Make Sure You Don’t Celebrate It Next Year?

Contraceptives Reproductive Health No Comments

Last Sunday, there were many happy people – especially mothers – celebrating Mother’s Day.

Now that’s it over, how do you make sure you aren’t on the receiving end of a “Happy Mother’s Day!” greeting next year? How do you remain kid-free? We don’t all want kids. Or, if we do, we don’t necessarily want them right now.

Assuming you’ve got a good contraception game plan (see Contraceptives for more), it ‘s good to know you can skip down to your corner drug store and get yourself some Emergency Contraception – that’s EC for short also called “the morning after pill” – if the condom busts or whatever…

Yep. No need to shell out money for a doctor’s visit, let alone taking off from work for a  prescription you might not even be able to get in time. The new US law requiring pharmacists to sell Emergency Contraception without a prescription to girls 15 and older went into effect last April.  Just make sure you take your Next Choice One Dose, Plan B, Ella, or whatever brand you chose within 72 hours of the deed. Five EC brands are available in the US. Other countries may have a larger or smaller choice of brands.

Ella – approved for use up to 5 days after unprotected sex –  is the most effective of the EC pills but may be a little more expensive. And, ladies, EC is not an abortion. EC prevents a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb. Until the egg is attached to the womb, you are not pregnant.  You can also have an IUD inserted if you can get an appointment in time and shell out the dough ($400 – $1,000), if you don’t have insurance.

On a more sobering note, getting an abortion is getting tougher in the US.  Months after Roe vs Wade marked its 40th anniversary, more states are putting in restrictive laws. But, one in 3 women in the US will have an abortion in her lifetime.  And, women of color are more likely to have an abortion than white women. But, we’re very unlikely to tell our stories.  A piece in Ebony exposes the problem eloquently.

Statistics show making abortion illegal or legal has no effect on the total number of abortions performed in the world.  But, legalizing abortion dramatically reduces the likelihood a woman will die or have serious medical complications from an abortion.  About half of all pregnancies that occur in a year are unwanted, and nearly half of these women chose to terminate their pregnancy.  Around the world, 42 million women choose to terminate their pregnancy each year with close to half of those (20 million) being illegal.

Wishing you another kid-free Mother’s Day – if that’s your choice!