Sexual and reproductive health in an emergency
- News
- Sexual and reproductive health in an emergency
-
When there’s an emergency or severe weather, you might need to evacuate – or stay at home – with little or no notice. How can you look after your sexual and reproductive health in these situations?
What you can do to prepare
Prepare a grab bag – including medication like the pill
Pack grab bags of essential supplies for everyone in your whānau in case you need to evacuate. As well as food, torches, clothes, and cash, this should include medications like the contraceptive pill and period products. If you don’t put them in the bag, have them somewhere handy to add quickly.
If you don’t have time to get your grab bag or if you need support, don’t worry – there are places you can go for help.
Prepare supplies for staying at home
If you need to hunker down and avoid travel during an emergency, it’s important you have what you need.
The Get Ready website recommends preparing supplies for at least three days. This includes food, water, and toilet paper – and keeping these in one spot.
-
-
What if I forgot to take my pill?
-
If you’re on the contraceptive pill but you forget to take it – or you take it late – you won’t be protected against pregnancy. If you don’t want to become hapū, here’s what you should do, depending on the type of pill you’re taking:
If you’re on the combined oral contraceptive pill
Follow the 7-day rule.
This means:
Continue taking your pills when you can. You need to take hormone pills for seven days in a row before you will be protected from becoming hapū again
Use another type of contraception like condoms if you have sex during these 7 days
Use emergency contraception if you have sex without a condom – or the condom breaks – during these 7 days
If you’re on the progestogen-only contraceptive pill
Follow the 2-day rule.
This means:
Continue taking your pills when you can. You need to take your pills for 2 days in a row before you will be protected from becoming hapū again
Use another type of contraception like condoms if you have sex during these 2 days
Use emergency contraception if you have sex without a condom – or the condom breaks – during these 2 days
-
-
Where can I get a repeat prescription in an emergency?
-
The pill must be prescribed for you by a nurse or doctor.
During clinic hours, you can get a prescription for the pill from us – you'll need to make an appointment. We can often prescribe some pill repeats over the phone too.
During a disaster, you may be able to request a three-day supply of medicine from a pharmacy if you’ve had it prescribed within the last 90-180 days. But you will have to pay the full cost of the medicine and the dispensing fee. Find out more about emergency dispensing of medicines.
-
-
Where can I get emergency contraception?
-
Emergency contraception is a way to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. There are two types of emergency contraception available in Aotearoa:
The emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) — the ECP is a pill you can take in the three days after unprotected sex. It has also been called the morning after pill. The ECP can work for up to four days after sex, but the sooner you take it the better
The copper IUD — the copper IUD can be used as a form of emergency contraception. It needs to be put in up to five days after unprotected sex. You can keep it in for 5-10 years for ongoing contraception — or you can get it removed earlier.
You can get the emergency contraceptive pill from:
One of our clinics
Most pharmacies – find one near you on Healthpoint
You can get the copper IUD for emergency contraception from:
One of our clinics
Another medical centre or sexual health service – find one near you on Healthpoint
-
-