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Talk6 min

How does the morning-after pill prevent pregnancy?

Alison Edelman · TED

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About

In a 2021 study, researchers asked over 500 participants to explain how the morning-after pill worked. Despite these pills’ widespread use, 60% answered incorrectly. Emergency contraceptives are often misunderstood— even the phrase “the morning-after pill” is a misnomer. So, how do they work? Alison Edelman explores how two main types of emergency contraception disrupt or delay ovulation. [Directed by Magali García, narrated by Bethany Cutmore-Scott, music by Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio].

The talk

  1. How does the morning-after pill prevent pregnancy? 6 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TED-Ed
Speaker
Alison Edelman
Year
2026
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Biology, Medicine and health, Teaching and learning
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Adult profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed