Thanks for your question. Whether or not the Depo-Provera® injection will protect you from pregnancy depends on when you received it. For example: If you received the Depo-Provera® injection during the first 5-7 days of a normal menstrual period, you are protected from pregnancy right away. If you received the Depo shot after having a negative pregnancy test and you didn’t have unprotected sex for two weeks before the shot, you should also be protected. If neither scenario applies to you, talk to the provider who gave you the Depo shot to see if you need to take emergency contraception. Remember to schedule your next Depo-Provera® injection so you can get it within 12 weeks and use condoms EVERY TIME you have sex to lessen the chance of getting and/ or sharing sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.