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Effectiveness of Birth Control

 Birth control effectiveness is generally measured in terms of how many women get pregnant within one year of using a particular method. For example, if 100 women use a particular method of contraception for a year and zero women get pregnant during the first year of use, then that method has a zero percent failure rate. When deciding on the best birth control method, it is important to consider these statistics and rates so that you can take an informed decision about what method works for you. Ideally, any birth control method is more effective if it is used consistently and correctly. However, this does not always happen and studies also provide a typical user rate of effectiveness that takes into consideration people who do not always use a particular method reliably.

• The only hundred percent reliable method of birth control is celibacy or abstinence. All other means and devices carry some percentage of failure.
• Very effective methods of birth control include the IUD, implants, injection, tubal ligation and vasectomy.
• High effective methods of birth control are oral contraceptive pills, contraceptive patches, and vaginal rings.
• Moderately Effective Methods consist of natural family planning methods, barrier methods such as the male or female condoms, diaphragm, spermicides and the cervical cap or sponge.  
• Combining two types of birth control methods can increase the overall efficacy as well.



Frequently asked questions

• What Are Some Of The Side Effects Of Birth Control Pills?
• What Are The Different Kinds oF Birth Control Methods?
• What Is The Most Effective Birth Control Method?
• What Could Be The Cause For My Irregular Periods?

References

1. Vivian Brache, Luis José Payán, Aníbal Faundes, Current status of contraceptive vaginal rings, Contraception, Volume 87, Issue 3, March 2013, Pages 264-272, ISSN 0010-7824, 10.1016/j.contraception.2012.08.037.
2. Terri L. Walsh, Ron G. Frezieres, Karen Peacock, Anita L. Nelson, Virginia A. Clark, Leslie Bernstein, Brian G.D. Wraxall, Effectiveness of the male latex condom: combined results for three popular condom brands used as controls in randomized clinical trials, Contraception, Volume 70, Issue 5, November 2004, Pages 407-413, ISSN 0010-7824, 10.1016/j.contraception.2004.05.008.