A recent victory in birth control--Plan B is now available over the counter if you're over 18 years old! Granted, you have to show proof of age to the pharmacist, but you no longer have to get a prescription first from your doc. And since most birth control "accidents" (the condom breaks, or we don't use it at all) occur at nights and on weekends, how nice to not have to call your doc at 3 a.m. to beg for a prescription.

For those of you who haven't heard the scoop, Plan B is also known as emergency contraception, or the "morning after pill."  It is two doses of levonorgestrel, the hormone progestin that's found in many birth control pills.  By taking the first dose within 120 hours of unprotected sex, you can reduce the risk of pregnancy over 85%.  Since Plan B doesn't have estrogen, it's safe for anyone to take.  In fact, the only people who can't take Plan B are those who are allergic to it.  And if you're actually pregnant when you take it (and didn't realize you were), it's okay--Plan B won't cause a miscarriage, and it won't cause birth defects in the pregnancy.

The easier access to Plan B is also great since the medication is more effective the sooner it's taken.  So if you can get your hands on the pills quickly (like 12 hours after unprotected sex), it's about 92% effective. It's not a bad idea to buy Plan B and just keep it in your medicine cabinet.  Think of it like a Band-Aid--you don't buy Band-Aids when you cut yourself; you have them in stock just in case.

• You might experience some nausea with Plan B, and you might see your period start a little earlier or a little later than you'd normally expect. But overall, it's really well-tolerated...and certainly a better option than crossing your fingers and waiting for your period to come. Have any of you tried Plan B?  Was it easy to get?  The comments want to know!