Failures Rates for Contraceptives

Failure Rates DO Matter. Look over the Perfect Use and Actual Use Failure Rates for the Different Methods of Birth Control. Use these figures to help make your decision.

Theoretical and Actual Failure Rates in a Year for 100 typical users of Birth Control Methods. The theoretical failure rate is the number who will be pregnant in that year. Actual failure is actual number who would get pregnant during that year. Theoretical rates are based on perfect use of a method, and actual rates are based on the typical use of a method. This is the percent of women who will experience an unintended pregnancy in the year.

Method of Birth Control	Typical Use % pregnancy	Perfect Use % pregnancy
Abstinence	25
Cervical Cap: Never Pregnant	20	9
Cervical Cap: Previously Pregnant	40	26
Condoms: Female	21	5
Condoms: Male	14	3
Diaphragm	20	6
Emergency Contraception	Please see note**
Injections	0.3	0.3
Implants	0.05	0.05
IUD - Copper T	0.8	0.6
IUD - Progestasert®	2.0	1.5
Natural Family Planning: Sympto-Thermal		2
Natural Family Planning: Ovulation Observation		3
Natural Family Planning: Calendar		9
Natural Family Planning: Post Ovulation		1
Nothing	85	85
The Pill	5
The Pill: Combination		0.1
The Pill: Progestin Only		0.5
Spermicides	26	6
Sponge: Never Pregnant	20	9
Sponge: Previously Pregnant	40	20
Sterilization: Female	0.5	0.5
Sterilization: Male	0.15	0.10
Withdrawal	19	4

Based On: Contraceptive Technology: Seventeenth Revised Edition. Hatcher RA, Trussell J, Stewart F, Cates W, Stewart GK, Kowal D, Guest F, New York NY: Irvington Publishers, 1998.
**Emergency Contraceptive Pills: Treatment started within 72 hours after unprotected intercourse decreases the risk of pregnancy by at least 75%

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