in brief: morning after pill might not work for the average woman

A new, startling discovery reports that the morning after pill, NorLevo, isn’t always effective for women who weigh over 74 kgs, and will not work at all for women who weigh more than 79 kgs.

NorLevo is made by French manufacturer HRA Pharma, and the company has recently revised its packaging to indicate the problem they have found in their product.

Even more staggering is the discovery that NorLevo is chemically identical to a number of other pregnancy prevention pills, including Plan B One-Step. In an article for website Mother Jones, Molly Redden points out that the average American woman, weighing 166 pounds, ‘is too heavy to use these pills effectively.’

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to Redden’s story on Mother Jones, stating that they were deciding whether or not pharmaceutical companies in the US that sell similar products should change their labelling.

FDA spokesperson Erica Jefferson wrote, ‘US drug companies have a legal obligation to alert the FDA if new information makes their existing labeling accurate.’

Aside from the obvious issue with not informing consumers about the weight problem, this discovery means that many women are no longer able to use the medication, particularly if they want effective, reliable birth control.

While many birth control pills in the US require a prescription for use, Plan B and other generic emergency contraceptives are the few that are available to all without a prescription.

There is a definite issue when, not only do women have trouble accessing birth control, but now have to worry about whether or not it will work properly because of their weight.

[Image Credit]