Wait, You Can Use the Copper IUD for Emergency Birth Control?

If you always forgot to take your daily birth control pill, the longer-term pregnancy-prevention method known as the IUD may have been your saving grace. But the non-hormonal copper IUD has another unexpected superpower: It’s 99.9 percent effective at preventing pregnancy if inserted within five days of unprotected sex.

The IUD, which stands for intrauterine device, is a tiny, T-shaped device that sits in the uterus to prevent pregnancy, according to Kecia Gaither, MD, director of perinatal services at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center. Learn more about IUDs for birth control. Interested to know more about IUDs? Check out these commonly believed IUD myths.

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Brittany Doohan

Brittany Doohan was the Content Director at HealthiNation and is currently the Editorial Director at Medscape. Through her work with Medscape, she won a Silver Telly Award in May 2022 for "Sleepless Nation: A Public Health Epidemic — Episode 2: A Decade Without a Diagnosis." She has worked in health journalism and video production for more than 8 years, and loves the challenge of explaining complex topics in an easy-to-understand and creative way.

Reviewed by:

Alexandra Schwarz, MD

Alexandra Schwarz, MD, is a board-eligible sleep medicine physician and a board-certified family medicine physician. She is a member of both the AASM and the ABFM.

Our editorial standards

Meet our experts