60% of women having unplanned children used birth control. Here's why it doesn't work.

http://www.wopular.com/60-women-having-unplanned-children-used-birth-control-herex27s-why-it-doesnx27t-work ^ | Dangus

[dangus]

Failure rates of common birth control methods:

Symptom-based fertility awareness ("modern Natural Family Planning"): 1.8%

Cervical cap: 6.7%

Combined oral contraceptive pill: 8-9%

Note: "Combined" oral contraceptive pills combine estrogen-based drugs with abortifacients. So without "undetected miscarriages" (i.e., dead babies), this rate would be higher.

Ortho-Evra patch: 8-9%

Nuva Ring: 8-9%

Diaphragm: 12-16% (depending on source)

Male Latex Condom: 15-18% (spermicide-treated, depending on source)

Coitus Interruptus: 18-22% (depending on source)

Rhythm Method: 24-25% (depending on source)

Contraceptive Sponge: 24-32% (depending on whether the woman had been previously pregnant)

Spermicide: 28% (without condom)

Please note the following:

> Condom use is no more effective than coitus interruptus.

> An 18% failure rate does NOT mean that only 18% of women who use this method will ever get pregnant. It means that it reduces pregnancies 82%. So if a women would normally get pregnant after an average of three months without using a condom, she will now get pregnant after only sixteen months.

> Even presuming failure rates are completely independent, using a male condom with a contraceptive sponge combined is still THREE times LESS effective than modern NFP. (15% * 32% is 4.8%, compared to 1.6%)

Now, I believe that you should consider "typical-use" failure rates. But a lot of people reading this are probably jumping out of their seats to deny that condoms have a 18% failure rate. But the "perfect use" failure rate is still higher than the typical-use failure rate for modern NFP, and still three times higher than perfect-use NFP. And I believe that "perfect use" is completely unrealistic: the male partner has to hold the condom on with his hand while he does a one-hand pushup over his partner. And no double dipping without showering between acts!

Also worth noting, the standard-days rhythm method, carefully used, has a failure rate LOWER than the typical-use condoms, plan B, contraceptive sponges, combined diaphragm and spermicide, Nuva Ring, or combined oral-use contraception, and even perfectly used contraceptive sponges, cervical caps, diaphragms, Plan B, or common applications of spermicide.

So why are so many people so convinced that artificial contraception is necessary to prevent overpopulation?

I believe the problem is this: NFP reminds people of the need for responsibility. But modern sexuality is all about compulsivity. What artificial contraception provides

[Theophilus]

“Family planning” is unnatural. NFP is an oxymoron.

[JCBreckenridge]

You claim condoms are effective. Let’s see some evidence for your position...

[dangus]

You’re joking right? You’ve never heard of Natural Family Planning? No, that’s not the rhythm method (although that’s ALMOST as successful as condoms with spermicide). It’s the first contraceptive technique listed in the article. Did you really just leap into defending condom use without reading one blessed thing in the article?

[discostu]

The primary problems condoms have is they don’t store well. The packages are fairly delicate, and any break in them allows the condom to dry, and they only have to dry out a very little bit and microscopic cracks appear, at which point leakage or full fledged tearing occurs. Keeping them someplace where they don’t get squished or banged around dramatically improves effectiveness. Which makes them very bad for “active” people dating around who tend to bring condoms with them, in pockets and purses. The old symbol of the “ready” man, the condom ring showing on the side of his wallet, is really a symbol of doing it wrong, just a couple days in a wallet will kill a condom.

Most of the failure for most of the contraceptive methods revolve around doing it wrong, not following the instructions to the letter. When people actually follow instructions they all work well.

[The Antiyuppie]

“The side effects of the birth control pill are horrific. No one should be on it.”

Absolutely no woman over 25 should take them.

Do you know what they call Catholics who use the rhythm
method?

Parents.

[miss marmelstein]

Well, maybe it’s the guys you know who mess up. You cannot keep condoms hanging around for long. You must discard them and use new ones. Big deal. I’ve had to toss dried herbs faster than that.

[dangus]

>> Well, maybe it’s the guys you know who mess up. <<

*Pounds head on desk* Trust me, I am not using data from guys I personally know.

[JCBreckenridge]

I think we should gage effectiveness by the real world use statistics.

If you were an engineer - is it more important the theory or the actual use patterns? Use patterns are very, very important.

[discostu]

It really is all about whether or not you do it right:
http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/news/20120224/condom-misuse-common
http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/explanation-condom-failure-rates
Failure rate is 2% when you follow all the instructions, 15% when you don’t. Most of the bad stats come in because humans just aren’t that great at following instruction at the best of times, and we get much worse at it when the hormones are flowing.

[miss marmelstein]

Thanks for the info. If people read my comments correctly, they would have seen that I mean condoms are effective for married people, not the “ready” man, lol.

[JCBreckenridge]

The sixties called - they want their Nehru jacket back.

[LibertarianLiz]

Diaphragm: 12-16%

Yep, I can confirm this and her name is Kerry. Totally love her.

[JCBreckenridge]

Aside from personal opinion, what evidence have you provided substantiating your position?

[PLMerite]

"Plus condoms, even used by well educated people, fail regularly."

Or, as I've said on more than one exciting occasion:

"First the Hindenburg, and now this!"

Women don't seem to see the humor in it, however.

[miss marmelstein]

2%. That’s what I thought though I didn’t have the info at my fingertips to put it out there. It’s a very high effective rate IF you use it properly. Problem is, people don’t.

BTW, if you are against birth control methods, I totally understand. I’m only writing about effectiveness.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

I'm one of five children. My enlightened catholic mom said all of us were the product of one or another failed form of contraception of various kinds. And back in the '60s her parish priests told her contraception was fine.

[discostu]

Well I’m a QA engineer, so I see both sides. Usage patterns are important, but sometimes users are just morons. When a guy walks around with a condom in his wallet for months on end, completely ignoring the package instructions that specifically said not to do that, it’s not really the condom’s fault when it fails. He put the holes in the thing. It’s the users’ choice whether they want to have a 15% failure rate or 2%. Yeah the instructions are a little bit complicated, but not nearly as complicated as raising a kid.

[count-your-change]

According to an article in WebMd NFP has a failure rate of about 25% during the first year typically and about 8% if practiced carefully.

Only no efforts at all is higher.

[JCBreckenridge]

Isn’t one of the primary arguments for condoms is that folks in third world countries find them useful?

If the use patterns show that even educated first world people get them consistantly wrong, that’s a design flaw. Especially given the claimed market for them.

This is one thing the Billings method does well - cervical mucus is actually easier to understand.

[JCBreckenridge]

[[citation needed]]