Emergency contraception (EC) is available in Latvia: local pharmacies distribute LNG EC and (since June 2017) UPA EC, but EC is not reimbursed or covered by social security and is not included in national policies for family planning.
- Sexual & reproductive health background information
- Accessibility & prescription status
- Cost
- Guidelines & common practices
- EC use
Sexual & reproductive health background information
| Female population aged 15-49 | Mean age at first sexual intercourse | Mean age at birth of first child | Total fertility rate | % use of modern contraceptive methods | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 444,2491 | 17.62 | 27.21 | 1.641 | 55.5%3 |
| Year | 2015 | 2011 | 2014 | 2014 | 1995 |
Accessibility & prescription status
In Latvia, LNG and UPA EC are available behind the counter from pharmacies, which means that EC is available without a prescription but is not on the shelves and needs to be requested in order to purchase. According to national authorities, since 2015, UPA EC has been approved to be sold without a prescription from pharmacies, but the product was not available in the country until June 2017.
Gynecologists and family doctors are the sole health care professionals who are authorized to prescribe or provide EC, according to a 2002 Sexual and Reproductive Health Law.
Cost
| Type of EC | Approximate Cost | Brand(s) Available |
|---|---|---|
| LNG | € 21.534 | Escapelle |
| LNG | € 21.144 | Postinor Duo |
| LNG | € 15.144 | Postinor PI |
| UPA | € 25 | ellaOne |
The cost of EC is not reimbursed or covered by social security in Latvia.
Guidelines & common practices
There are no national clinical guidelines on EC in Latvia. Gynecologists and family doctors sometimes, or by individual request, will provide general information about EC during regular consultations but do not prescribe EC in advance of need.
EC use
| Ever use of EC | EC use in the last 12 months | % with no prescription | Repeated use of EC in last 12 months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | n/a | 2%2 | n/a | n/a |
| Year | n/a | 2011 | n/a | n/a |
Sources
1 Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Retrieved 11 November 2015, from http://www.csb.gov.lv/en.
2 Survey on Reproductive Health of the Population, 2011.
3 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Contraceptive Use 2012. New York, 2012.
4 Visi Produkti – Aptieku akcijas. (2021). Retrieved June 2017, from http://www.visas-zales.lv/
Last update: June 2017
