How Effective Is Birth Control? A Realistic Look at the Pill, the Patch, Arm Implants, and More

Does it work? That’s the real question when it comes to birth control. Contraception’s primary role is to prevent pregnancy, right? Knowing exactly how effectively a particular method can do that can be one of several compelling reasons to pick thebirth control optionthat is best for you — along with convenience, cost, and ease of use.

出生控制效果率是指100人在使用避孕年后有多少女性将怀孕。

Consider How Complicated It Is to Use a Particular Contraception Method

另一个重要问题是：正确使用有多难？专家通常在出现治疗效果率时列出两个数字：完美使用和典型或实际使用。

Perfect Use vs. Typical Use: Contraception Theory vs. Reality

"Perfect use" refers to how well a specific form of birth control will prevent pregnancy in 100 women after a year has passed, if that method is used correctly every single time sex happens.

In the case of a condom for a man, for example, this means the condom is put on the penis as it is erect, but not when pre-ejaculate (sperm) appears. The condom must completely cover the penis, and it can’t be stretched, torn, or ripped before it is put on or while it is in use. It also needs to be removed properly, away from the vagina, so no collected sperm can accidentally spill or leak into the vagina accidentally.

避孕套需要很多步骤（或潜在的失败点）

在图表（图1）中生殖健康专业人士协会（ARHP）, male condoms are listed as 98 percent effective with perfect use (with 2 women out of 100 reporting they got pregnant despite using the condom every single time).

"Typical or actual use" is how effective birth control is when it is used, well, typically. This rate is for 100 women, over the course of a year, having sex and using birth control every time — but maybe not following the directions for exactly how to use it correctly.

Focus on Typical Use When Choosing Birth Control

Getting back to the male condom, typical use might involve putting the condom on while the penis is erect, but after pre-ejaculate has appeared (which means that sperm might leak onto the outside of the condom, where it could travel into the vagina during sex). Another typical use could be putting the condom on without leaving a bubble of air at the tip, and having the condom break during intercourse.

Other Pitfalls Related to Contraceptive Product, Following Directions

使用过期的避孕套或试图重用它们，是避孕套的其他方式效果远低（如果没有完全无效）。

In the same chart from the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, male condoms have a "typical use" rate of 85 percent (with 15 women out of every 100 reporting they got pregnant using male condoms for birth control after a year of sex using condoms).

Things Happen: Nobody’s Perfect When It Comes to Birth Control Behaviors

“最重要的是要了解的是，我们都是常规生活的正常妇女，”Nerys Benfield, MD,主任家庭计划for Montefiore Medical Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.

There are practical elements involved in staying on a birth control method, which Dr. Benfield, who is agynecologistwith Bedsider, an online tool from权力决定, calls “points of access.” Some methods have only one point of access, like an IUD, which you insert just once and only remove when you want to怀孕or need to replace it after a period of time. Other methods, such as birth control pills or补丁, require going to the pharmacy once a month to refill.

Low Maintenance vs. High Maintenance Birth Control

In short, using the pill takes sustained effort. “The pill is an everyday affair, and if you forget your pack when you go out for a night on the town or have a busy day and forget it, or if you need to get to a pharmacy on a weekend, then access becomes an issue,” says Benfield. “It's similar with a patch — if it peels off, you need to be able to get an extra patch to change it out. The combination of those things is what makes actual use different from perfect use.”

Just Set It and Forget It: Low Maintenance, Highly Effective Contraception Methods

Someforms of birth controlhave similar or the same effectiveness rates for both perfect and actual or typical use. That’s because once the contraception is in place, it isn’t going anywhere or can’t be dislodged before, during, or after sex. This includes methods such as the different forms of IUDs; once placed in the cervix, they aren’t supposed to move, so their effectiveness rates are virtually the same, and very close to 100 percent.

RELATED:有7种健康的理由 - 现在有性行为！

Other methods with similar effectiveness rates are an implant, listed on the chart asImplanon(a small rod with progestin that is inserted into the arm), as well as male sterilization, known as a vasectomy, and female sterilization, calledtubal ligation— both of which are supposed to be permanent and are difficult to impossible to reverse.

一致性是许多类型避孕的关键

最终，每当您发生性行为或参与类似的活动时，最终使用出生：涉及涉及在附近的任何地方的类似活动vaginal opening— will help cut down the chance of unintended pregnancy and get you closer to the perfect effectiveness rates.

How Effective Is That Type of Birth Control? A Cheat Sheet on Contraception Effectiveness

Birth control pills — perfect use: 99 percent effective; typical use: 91 percent effective.

射击/ depo / devo-provera— perfect use: 99 percent effective; typical use: 94 percent effective.

Arm implant/Nexplanon/Implanon— perfect use: 99 percent effective; typical use: 99 percent effective.

Vaginal ring or NuvaRing— perfect use: 99 percent effective; typical use: 91 percent effective.

The patch— perfect use: 99 percent effective; typical use: 91 percent effective.

The IUD (intrauterine device)— perfect use: 99 percent effective; typical use: 99 percent effective.

Diaphragm— perfect use: 94 percent when coated in spermicide (a lubricant that kills sperm); typical use: 88 percent.

Sponge— perfect use: 80 to 91 percent effective; typical use: 76 to 88 percent effective.

颈部盖— 71 to 86 percent effectiveness. (No stats are available for perfect use.)

Male condoms— perfect use: around 98 percent effective; typical use: 85 percent effective.

女避孕套 - 完美用途：95％有效;典型用途：79％有效。

Fertility awareness methods (FAM)— perfect use: 95 to 98 percent effective; typical use: 76 to 88 percent effective.

乳液闭塞法（LAM）— 98 percent effective with perfect use.

Withdrawal, or pulling out — perfect use: 96 percent effective; typical use: 78 percent effective.

Tubal ligation — 99 percent effective.

Vasectomy- 99％有效。

Abstinence — 100 percent effective.

避孕说话：什么是完美使用避孕药？