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ABSTRACT
Background: The rise in premarital sexual activities among undergraduate students of tertiary institutions and even secondary schools especially in developing nations like Nigeria, has become a public health concern. Consequences of premarital sexual activities include unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes of the use of emergency contraceptive amongst University of Benin undergraduate students, and the side effects experienced by the users Methods: In a cross-sectional study conducted among University of Benin students, online questionnaire was used to gather information from female students about their knowledge and attitude to the use of emergency contraceptives as well as the side effects users experienced. Information gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: As much as 57% of the respondents engaged in unprotected sex. Some of them (43%) had used emergency contraceptive prior to the study. Majority of them (at least 88%) were aware of emergency contraceptive and knew that the use of contraceptive can prevent pregnancy. Some respondents (14%) wrongly identified the use of antibiotics as a means of pregnancy prevention. Only a few of them (9%) believe that emergency contraceptives should be used after unprotected sex. The side effects reported to have been experienced by the respondents following the use of emergency contraceptives were nausea and vomiting, tiredness, breast tenderness, irregular bleeding and abdominal pain. Conclusion: While this study shows that a most respondents are aware of the use of emergency contraceptives and know that it can be used to prevent unwanted pregnancy, misconceptions exist among them. Common side effects of emergency contraceptives that include nausea and vomiting, tiredness breast, tenderness, irregular bleeding or spotting, and abdominal pain were experienced by some respondents. Keywords: Adolescent sexual behaviour, contraception Emergency contraceptive (EC), Unprotected sexual intercourse (UPI), Levonorgestrel (LNG), Emergency contraceptive pills (ECP), Family Planning.
