Emergency contraception for the South African healthcare professional

Abstract

Unintended pregnancies are very common, and it is estimated that almost 45% of all pregnancies in 2011 in the USA were not planned.1 In South Africa, the situation could even be worse as it is common knowledge that we have a very high teenage pregnancy rate. It puts the already overburdened health system under enormous pressure. The social and financial pressure of an unintended or even unwanted pregnancy can be devastating to a family and even more so to a single mother. It has been reported that the unintended pregnancy rate in Botswana is 52% and that only 22% had ever used emergency contraception (EC).2