How Effective Is Contraception At Preventing Pregnancy?
Some methods of contraception are more effective than others.
For example, the contraceptive implant works very well at preventing pregnancy. It's over 99% effective if used correctly all the time (sometimes called perfect use).
This means that if 100 women chose the contraceptive implant, less than 1 woman will experience an unintended pregnancy within the first year of use.
Typical use
Contraception is less effective if not used perfectly all the time. This is called typical use.
Typical use includes things like missing a pill, a condom coming off during sex or forgetting to replace a vaginal ring.
How effective contraception methods are
Effectiveness of contraception at preventing pregnancy (listed in order of effectiveness with typical use) | ||
Method | Typical use | Perfect use |
Method Contraceptive implant | Typical use Over 99% | Perfect use Over 99% |
Method IUS (hormonal coil) | Typical use Over 99% | Perfect use Over 99% |
Method IUD (copper coil) | Typical use Over 99% | Perfect use Over 99% |
Method Contraceptive injection | Typical use 94% | Perfect use Over 99% |
Method Combined pill | Typical use 91% | Perfect use Over 99% |
Method Progestogen-only pill | Typical use 91% | Perfect use Over 99% |
Method Contraceptive patch | Typical use 91% | Perfect use Over 99% |
Method Vaginal ring | Typical use 91% | Perfect use Over 99% |
Method Condoms | Typical use 82% | Perfect use 98% |
Method Internal (female) condoms | Typical use 79% | Perfect use 95% |
Method Natural family planning | Typical use 76% | Perfect use 91 to 99% (estimate) |
Method Diaphragms and caps | Typical use Unknown | Perfect use 92 to 96% (estimate) |
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