Sexual Health

Campus Health is committed to providing caring, high quality, and confidential services to our campus community, inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

To meet the health and wellness needs of all campus community members, the various Campus Health offices provide numerous programs and services specifically for the LGBTQ+ community. Whether you need primary care, preventive health services, mental health care, or you are looking for general health and wellness information, our staff of physicians, nurse practitioners, therapists, health educators, and other health professionals are ready to help.

Learn more here.

Tulane and Loyola students may walk into the pharmacy on the third floor of the Student Health Center and receive free emergency contraction during open business hours. Students are not required to have a health insurance plan nor do they need a prescription to access the emergency contraception.

What is EC?
Emergency contraception (aka the morning after pill) is birth control that you use after you have had unprotected sex—if you did not use birth control or your regular birth control failed. Emergency contraception should be used as soon as possible within three to five days after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. ECPs are more effective the sooner you take them. Emergency contraception does not work if you are already pregnant.

You can use emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy if:

• you didn’t use a condom or other birth control method when you had vaginal sex
• you messed up your regular birth control (forgot to take your birth control pills, change your patch or ring, or get your shot on time) and had vaginal sex
• your condom broke or slipped off after ejaculation (cumming)
• your partner didn't pull out in time
• you were forced to have unprotected vaginal sex

If you use emergency contraception correctly after you have unprotected sex, it makes it much less likely that you’ll get pregnant. But don’t use it regularly as your only protection from pregnancy, because it’s not as effective as regular, non-emergency birth control methods (like the IUD, pill, or condoms). 

What types of emergency contraception exists?

There are 2 types of morning-after pills:

A pill with levonorgestrel. Brand names include: Plan B One Step, Take Action, My Way, AfterPill, and others.

• You can buy these morning-after pills over the counter without a prescription in most drugstores and pharmacies.
• Pan B is available for free without a prescription at the Student Health Center Pharmacy. 
• These types of morning-after pills work best when you take them within 72 hours (3 days) after unprotected sex, but you can take them up to 5 days after. The sooner you take them, the better they work.
• These types of morning-after pills work best on people who weigh under 155 lbs.

A pill with ulipristal acetate. There’s only one brand, called ella.

• You need a prescription from a nurse or doctor to get ella emergency contraception.
• Make an appointment with the Student Health Center for an ella prescription that can be filled at the pharmacy.
• ella is the most effective type of morning-after pill.
• You can take ella up to 120 hours (5 days) after unprotected sex, and it works just as well on day 5 as it does on day 1.
• This type of morning-after pill work on people of all bodyweights.

• Scarleteen provides “sex ed for the real world” with inclusive, comprehensive, supportive sexuality and relationships info for teens and emerging adults
• O.School is a non-judgmental resource for sexuality and dating. Help build your sexual confidence through medically-accurate videos, articles, and livestreams.
• Bedsider
• Go Ask Alice!