Frequently Asked Questions

If you have registered for a Yale Health Online account, we encourage you to message the clinician's care team. If you do not have a Yale Health Online account, but have had an appointment in the Ob/Gyn Department, we encourage you to register for a Yale Health Online account. This is a secure, confidential messaging system that allows you to communicate directly with your clinical care team.

You may request appointments, medication refills, and discuss routine medical concerns with the clinical care team 24/7. This is a very convenient way to communicate with your clinicians. Yale Health Online is for routine, non-urgent messages only.

However to communicate concerns or ask questions about birth control options, symptoms, and other related issues, this secure, electronic messaging system is appropriate and convenient. Please allow 24-48 hours for a response from your clinician.

The easiest way to get your birth control pills is to have your prior clinician call the Yale Health Center Pharmacy directly at 203-432-0033 with your prescription details. Your prior clinician may also fax it directly to 203-436-4251.

The Ob/Gyn Department has reserved special appointments with our clinicians and nurses to assist you with obtaining your birth control prescriptions at Yale Health. These appointments are available early in the semester for your convenience.

It is best if you can bring your current container or package that indicates your name, medication, date refilled, etc. to the appointment. This will assist in easy processing of your prescriptions. If you are unable to bring your birth control package or information, please make an appointment with the midwife and try to bring as much information about your medical history as possible to that appointment.

You may start taking your birth control pills one of two ways:

• start on the first day of your menstrual bleeding or
• start on the first Sunday after your menstrual bleeding begins.

If you want to switch to another form of birth control or change to another birth control pill due to side effects, call a nurse in the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 or send a message to your clinician using Yale Health Online. It may be possible to do this over the telephone and Yale Health Online. You do not necessarily need an appointment.

The last line on your most recent prescription label tells you how many refills remain on your prescription to be filled by a certain date. A prescription is generally good for one year from the date it is written. Prescriptions for most controlled substances, such as narcotics, are good for up to six months from the date written.

Have your clinician call the Yale Health Center Pharmacy directly at 203-432-0033 or fax the prescription to 203-436-4251 to give you enough pills until your next visit.

If this is not possible, please call the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 or visit Yale Health Online and request a Quick Pill Refill Visit with one of our certified nurse midwives. Please bring the pill container or packet with you to the visit. We will do our best to accommodate you, however, please plan ahead.

You may call for refills via our automated telephone line at 203-432-0033 or use our online prescription refill request and proceed directly to the check-out window when your prescription has been filled. 

You may also request a refill at the check-in window of the Yale Health Pharmacy.  Please allow 24- 48 hours for routine refills.

Please allow as much time as possible when requesting your refills. Generally, allow at least one full day for processing, and longer prior to weekends and holidays. The time period just prior to Thanksgiving recess, December recess, spring break and the end of the semester are peak processing times in the pharmacy. You will need to allow at least two full business days to process requests at this time.

If you have not been seen in the department for routine exams for greater than one year, the clinician may request that you make an appointment before refilling your prescription. In this case, the clinician will give you enough medication to last until the date of your examination/appointment.

Yes.  If you have a prescription written by an outside clinician, you can bring it in, have the clinician call 203-432-0033 or have the clinician fax the prescription to the pharmacy directly at 203-436-4251 (by law, faxed prescriptions can only be filled when faxed from a clinician's office directly).

You should call the pharmacy to confirm we received the fax from your clinician.  It's helpful if your clinician puts your date of birth on the prescription.

Please have your outside clinician refer to the Yale Health Drug List to ensure that your drug will be covered.

Students enrolled in Prescription Plus are covered.  Please call Member Services at 203-432-0246 or review the Yale Health Student Handbook to check on your individual coverage and benefits. 

Students with Yale Health Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage can receive free generic oral contraceptives at the Yale Health Center Pharmacy.

Birth Control Information

If you have not had a gynecologic exam within one year, please schedule an appointment by calling the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222.  Contraceptive options may be discussed at this visit.

If you have been seen within the past year, call to speak with a nurse, or use Yale Health Online to message your clinician to request a prescription.

If you miss two or more birth control pills, it is best to call the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 and ask to speak with a nurse as we can assist you in getting back on track without having to discontinue the cycle.  Note that you will need to use condoms for the rest of the cycle because ovulation is possible.

If you forget to take a pill, take it as soon as you remember. If you miss a pill for an entire day, take it the next day and then take your regular pill at the usual time. Do not take two pills together as this can cause nausea. Separate the two doses by an hour or more.

To minimize or eliminate nausea, take birth control pills with food. Being late with birth control pills may lead to break-through bleeding, bleeding prior to week four, or "placebo" week.  Break through bleeding does not indicate a lack of protection.

Only a small number of antibiotics may decrease the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. Other drugs may also interfere with oral contraception. Should you have any questions about medications you are taking, please discuss them with your clinician or pharmacist. If they feel there may be a decrease in effectiveness, use some other form of back up protection while on the antibiotic and for an additional seven days.

Choose a back up method of birth control such as a condom during the first seven days of pill use. A back up method is probably not necessary if you start taking the pills on the first day of your cycle.

Keep in mind that birth control pills are a protection from pregnancy only. You should still use condoms to protect yourself from STDs.

Emergency contraception, also known as "Plan B", "One Step" or "Next Choice", all commonly referred to as "the morning after pill" is available over the counter for women 17 and older at the Yale Health Pharmacy as well as most local pharmacies.  Emergency contraception might be effective up to 120 hours after unprotected intercourse, but is most effective when taken as soon as possible.

If you are under 17, it is available by prescription and you may call the Student Health Department at 203-432-0312 or the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 to make an appointment with the nurse to get a prescription for Plan B.

After hours, call Acute Care at 203-432-0123.

If you have questions about emergency contraception, you may call any of the departments above and ask to speak with one of the nurses. All information is confidential.

If you are concerned about an experience that might have led to pregnancy, you might be concerned about sexually transmitted infections.  Click here to learn more about STI testing.

In addition to the 28-day birth conrol pills, you can obtain the following:

Nuva Ring – A soft plastic ring containing estrogen & progesterone, which is inserted into the vagina where the hormone is absorbed through the vaginal mucosa. The method is 99% effective when used as directed and is based on a 28-day cycle like BCPs & Ortho Evra.

Depo Provera injection – A progesterone-only method, which is injected intramuscularly within the first five days of an established period. The method is immediately 99% effective when started in this manner. Injections are repeated every 11 to 13 weeks. Women on Depo Provera usually stop having periods. The menstrual cycle resumes when Depo Provera is discontinued.

Intrauterine Device – IUDs are available for insertion. An IUD is a small, plastic device, which is put into the uterus to stop a woman from getting pregnant. A Paraguard or Copper IUD contains Copper. The other has the hormone levonorgestrel which is released slowly into the uterus, helping to prevent pregnancy. This type is called the Mirena. For every 100 women using the IUD, less than one per year will get pregnant.

Sterilization – Surgical sterilization is available for both men and women. This option should be discussed with your primary care clinician to determine if it best meets your needs.

Barrier Methods – Barrier methods include the diaphragm, the cervical cap and spermicides. Diaphragms and cervical caps require fitting by a clinician and a prescription. Barrier methods have few side effects, although some people may be allergic to latex or spermicides. The average one-year failure rate for the diaphragm ranges between 12 to 18%.

Ortho Evra patch – A patch containing estrogen & progesterone, which is applied firmly to the skin. The hormone is absorbed through the skin and is 99% effective when used as directed.  It contains hormones that are released through the skin and into the bloodstream. The patch is used on a weekly 28-day cycle, similar to birth control pills.

If it is the first time that you will be getting your Depo Provera at Yale, please have your clinician call in the prescription order to our pharmacy. Please provide written confirmation of the date of your last Depo injection and, if possible, a copy of your most recent gynecologic exam and Pap findings. A medical record request form is available at Yale Health to facilitate your request.

We can give you the Depo Provera injection on an appointment basis. Call the Ob/Gyn Department at 203-432-0222 to make an appointment with the nurse or visit Yale Health Online.