Contraceptive effectiveness is characterized by typical use and perfect use (see chart below):
"Perfect failure rate" denotes the percentage of pregnancies which occur with the perfect and consistent use of the contraceptive method. The "typical failure rate", which takes into account some human error, is the actual percentage of pregnancies reported by average users.
| FAILURE RATES | ||
| birth control method | perfect use % | typical use % |
| No Contraception | 85 | 85 |
| Spermicides | 18 | 27 |
| Male Condoms | 2 | 15 |
| Female Condoms | 5 | 21 |
| Diaphragm | 6 | 18 |
| Cervical
Cap without prior pregnancy |
9 | 16 |
| Cervical
Cap with prior pregnancy |
26 | 32 |
| Ovulation Method | 3 | 22 |
| Sympto-Thermal (Basal Body Temperature) |
2.5 | 16 |
| Calendar (Rhythm) Method | 5 | 13-20 |
| Withdrawal | 4 | 27 |
| Oral Contraceptives | 0.3 | 8 |
| Ortho Evra Patch | 0.3 | 8 |
| IUD (Coil) | 0.1 | 1.2 |
| Female Sterilisation (Ligation) | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Male Sterilisation (Vasectomy) | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Abstinence | 0 | 0 |
For added protection against pregnancy, you can use more than one method of contraception at a time, such as using condoms together with spermicides.
Copyright © ShoppingLifestyle®
