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Comparing Birth Control

How does your birth control method stack up?

Take a look at the chart below to see how effective each type of birth control is at preventing pregnancy as well as protecting against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Both the "perfect use failure rate" (the estimated percentage of pregnancies that will occur if the birth control is used correctly and consistently) and the "typical use failure rate" (the estimated number of pregnancies that will occur with a typical user who does not use the contraception consistently or correctly) are listed for every contraceptive method. All of these percentages are for couples that have been using the particular contraceptive for one year.

If you find that your birth control method isn't as effective as you would like it to be, then consider using an additional method of contraception. Using a condom along with any other method of birth control will not only reduce the estimated failure rate of your contraceptive, but it will also help protect against sexually transmitted diseases.

Contraceptive Method	Perfect Use (%)	Typical Use (%)	Prevents Fertilization	Prevents Implantation	Postpone Sex	STD Protection
Spermicides	18	29	Fair	No	No	No
Male Condoms	2	15	Quite Good	No	No	Yes
Female Condoms	5	21	Good	No	No	Yes
Diaphragm	6	16	Good	No	No	No
Cervical Cap w/o prior pregnancy	9	16	Good	No	No	No
Cervical Cap w/ prior pregnancy	26	32	Fair	No	No	No
Sponge w/o prior pregnancy	9	16	Good	No	No	No
Sponge w/ prior pregnancy	20	32	Fair	No	No	No
Oral Contraceptives	0.3	8	Quite Good	Possibly	No	No
Contraceptive Patch	0.3	8	Quite Good	Possibly	No	No
Vaginal Contraceptive Ring	0.3	8	Quite Good	Possibly	No	No
Depo-Provera	0.3	3	Quite Good	Possibly	No	No
IUD (Copper)	0.8	0.6	Fair	Yes	No	No
IUD (Mirena)	0.1	0.1	Fair	Yes	No	No
No Method	85	85	No	No	No	No
Ovulation Method	3	22	Quite Good	No	Yes	No
Sympto-Thermal Method	2.5	13-20	Quite Good	No	Yes	No
Calendar Method	5	13	Good	No	Yes	No
Lactatoin (LAM)	0.5	6	Quite Good	No	No	No
Withdrawal	4	27	Good	No	No	No
Abstinence	0	0	Excellent	Yes	Yes	No