“Girls, your health is more important than sex for one night with a man that says he doesn't like the feel of a condom.”
—Lisa, 17, UK
How effective is birth control?
Certain types of birth control, like Depo-Provera and birth control pills ("the Pill"), are more than 99-percent effective. But that's only if they're used properly. Human error ("oops, I forgot my pill") is a huge factor in whether birth control works.
It's so important that manufacturers actually have two different rates of effectiveness for birth control. One is with "perfect use" in a laboratory, where there's no room for mistakes. The other is the "typical" rate, which takes into account the occasional broken condom and the couple of nights you forgot your pill. Of course, the perfect use rate is always higher.
Here are the effective rates in percentages (both "perfect use" and "typical use"):
Method Perfect Use Typical Use
Abstinence 100 75
Birth Control Pill ("the Pill") 99.7 92
Condoms
Male 98 85
Female 95 79
Cervical Cap 91 84
Depo-Provera ("the shot") 99.7 97
Diaphragm 94 84
Intrauterine Device (IUD) 99 98-99
NuvaRing 99.7 92
Ortho Evra ("the Patch") 99.7 92
Seasonale 99.7 92
Spermicides--alone 82 71
Withdrawal ("pulling out") 96 73
By the way, 85 percent of couples who do not use ANY method of birth control will become pregnant in a year.
For more information about birth control methods, go to "An A to Z of Contraception."
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