Hey, can someone good at math help me with something? If your chances of getting pregnant while using the pulling out method is 27% and the chances of getting pregnant on the pill is 8%, what are your chances of getting pregnant if you are on the pill and use the pull-out method?

Also, if the possibility of getting pregnant using a male condom is 15% and the pill is 8%, what is the possibility of getting pregnant using those two methods as well? Thank you. :) Percentages come from this site.

Er, where in the world are you getting these numbers? Contraception is SIGNIFICANTLY more effective than that. If your take the pill as prescribed, it's effectiveness is nearly 100%.

I'm going to call bullshit on those. If they were that ineffective, LOTS more teens would be pregnant. They may be accounting for people who use their contraception incorrectly, but that's a damn stupid thing to do, as it does not provide a realistic set of expectations for someone who is responsible in their sex habits and takes great care in what they use.

EDIT: Your site doesn't give details, but the column title "How Many Couples Using This Method Will Get Pregnant in a Year?" leads me to believe it's taking into account bad usage and not JUST the effectiveness when used ideally and correctly.

It says it's based on the average user, not a perfect user. And I'm not a perfect user because I take the birth control pill anywhere from 8-11pm, not the same time every day. I've heard that if you take the pill within a five hour period every night it should still be effective though. I was just wondering because I don't remember how to use percentages very well.

I'd imagine that that is an acceptable amount of incorrectness. However, I strongly dislike percentage sites that portray contraception as being unreliable in comparison to abstinence in this biased way. Sites NEED to say, when giving out facts, whether these facts are subject to user error or to error within the contraception itself. That's vitally important.

You should bury the empty cases under an elm at midnight each full moon. I heard that gives you an extra 2.5%

The birth control pill is effective if you take it within a certain period of time, but you absolutely MUST make sure you take it everyday. If you miss a day, take two the next day at the proper time. Even with the pill, you still need protection. Nothing is 100% effective at preventing pregnancy except for abstinence.

Getting pregnant is not a numbers game, either. Do not assume that you are in the safe percentage because you do things close enough to the rules. Be prepared, be safe, be informed. That's how you manage.

    Christine, assuming those statistics are accurate, I don't see how they're biased. Factoring in improper use seems like a good metric for average effectiveness for a typical user. If anything, basing the effectiveness on perfect use is less realistic and thus probably misleading. And you can't deny that abstinence is more reliable than contraception at prevention of unwanted pregnancy. (Of course, many who are encouraged to be abstinent or who claim to have committed to abstinence end up pregnant anyway.)
    Given the values you provided from that site, wink.wink, the chance of pregnancy after a year using both the pill and withdrawal are 2.16%. The chance of pregnancy after a year using male condoms and the pill is 1.2%. If you're interested, using all three methods the probability is 0.324%. In summary:

Pill + withdrawal: 2.16%
Pill + condom: 1.2%
All three: 0.324%

    Wikipedia says the range of pregnancy rates for typical birth control pill usage is reported at 2-8%, which makes your source on the high end of reports. The perfect use pregnancy rate is 0.3%. Wikipedia also says that typical use pregnancy rates for male condoms range from 10-18% per year. Perfect use rate is 2% per year. Lastly, Wikipedia lists a 15-28% actual pregnancy rate for the pulling out/withdrawal technique. So, redoing the calculations under perfect use conditions:

Pill + withdrawal: 0.045%
Pill + condom: 0.006%
All three: 0.0009%

    So as you can see, proper use is extremely important. Especially when you combine contraceptives, the benefits of proper use yield results several orders of magnitude better than typical use.

They're biased in that they are giving data that is not fully explained. It's good to factor it in, but only if that is clearly labelled. Those numbers are very misleading for someone who's going to be extremely conscientious about their birth control, as they may believe they aren't safe despite using it absolutely correctly. People need to know the difference between user error and whether the method is itself flawed, or else they cannot make accurate decisions.

The thing about birth control is that when your on it it stops your natural cycle. And you don't have an egg when your on birth contol. The effectiveness is pretty high. You just have to make sure to be consistant with your pills. Personally he doesn't even pull out of me and I've yet to get pregnant or think I am (knock on wood). You SHOULD be ok with just pulling out. But don't blame me if something bad happens....

Birth control pills require consistency. A few hours off the normal time is fine, but when you are taking the pills at different times each day, it messes up the balance of hormones in your body. Women who inconsistently take the pill at varying times and use no other method of birth control aside from the pill have a slightly higher risk than those who are consistent (brought to you by the lectures of my doctor at my last visit).
If you are worried about your risks while on the pill, consult your doctor and have them work with you to figure out what methods are best for you. They'll probably tell you the same things that we have already mentioned, however, but do not let that stop you from asking questions. If you are paranoid of becoming pregnant, use protection along with your birth control. Using protection should always be considered anyway, because the pill may prevent pregnancy, but it does not prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

As I said earlier, be prepared, be safe, and be informed. It is your best bet.

They were clearly labeled. The pregnancy rate per year column was labeled as "How Many Couples Using This Method Will Get Pregnant in a Year?"

Perhaps I am abnormal, but I would at a glance interpret that to mean "how effective is this method?" Without more information, it's not something that can be decided on as a method that's good for that particular individual.

Maybe you shouldn't worry about the percentages but take as many precautions as you can if you are not ready for parenthood... because I'm assuming you don't want the burden of restricting a child's life potential.