Sacramento

United States / California / Sacramento

OVERVIEW

Contraception (Birth Control)

General Note: There are many types of contraceptives, also known as "birth control," including IUDs, oral contraceptives, patches, shots, and condoms, etc. If you would like to view a full list, click here.

Emergency Contraception (Morning After Pill)

Important Notes: Emergency contraception may prevent pregnancy for three days (72 hours) and sometimes five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Take EC as soon as possible after unprotected sex. If you don't have access to dedicated EC, oral contraceptives can be used as replacement EC, but remember the following: 1) Only some contraceptives work as EC 2) Different contraceptives require different dosages and time schedules to work as EC 3) You must only use the first 21 pills in 28-day packs and 4) They may be less effective than dedicated EC. For general information on emergency contraceptives, click here and here.

What to Get & Where to Get It

Note: The longest-lasting EC is currently ellaOne. It lasts up to 5 days (120 hours) after unprotected sex. Check to see if your country carries ellaOne. If your country doesn't carry ellaOne, copper IUDs may also prevent pregnancy up to 5 days after unprotected sex. If none of these options are available, and it's been over 3 days since you had unprotected sex, you can still take EC, which may work up to 5 days. Note that EC pills are not 100% effective and should be taken as soon as possible.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs/STDs)

Important Notes - Learn about PEP and PrEP: If you think that you've been recently exposed to HIV (i.e. within 72 hours), seek out PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a month-long treatment to prevent HIV infection after exposure, and it may be available in your city. Take PEP as soon as possible. For more information, click here. If you are at risk of HIV exposure, seek out PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). It's a daily oral pill that can prevent HIV infection before exposure. To learn more about PrEP, click here.

Menstruation

Note: In addition to pads and tampons, you can also use menstrual cups and menstrual underwear for your period. To learn more about menstrual cups, click here. To learn more about menstrual underwear, click here.

Pregnancy

Laws & Social Stigmas

Under the California Prenatal Screening Program, the State of California offers pregnant women 3 screening tests which are aimed at establishing whether the expectant mother is at an increased risk of carrying a child with a chromosomal abnormality or a birth defect. Expectant mothers can also opt for non-invasive prenatal testing (abbreviated as NIPT and also known as cell-free fetal DNA testing). NIPT is carried out on maternal blood samples collected via a venous blood draw at around 10 weeks or later in pregnancy. The test looks at tiny fragments of fetal DNA found naturally in a pregnant woman's blood.More info.

Laws in California make it illegal for an employer to discriminate based upon the results of such tests; should you experience any form of discrimination you may contact the Chief of the Genetic Disease Screening Program. California employer discrimination law sums this up as: “Pregnancy discrimination is unlawful sex discrimination. State and federal laws specifically protect "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions" against discrimination.”

“The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibit discrimination against women because of pregnancy. The federal law, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), also states that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is illegal.”

Source: A Guide to Employment Law in California

Abortion

Important Note: There are two main types of abortions: medical (also known as the "abortion pill") and surgical (also known as "in-clinic"). For medical abortions, you take a pill to induce abortion. For surgical abortions, a procedure is performed to induce abortion. For general information about medical and surgical abortions, click here.