American Academy of Pediatrics

TABLE 1

Contraceptive Method Efficacy

Method	% of Women Experiencing an Unintended Pregnancy in the First Year of Use		% of Women Continuing Use at 1 Year^a
	Typical Use^b	Perfect Use^c
No method	85	85	—
Spermicides (foams, creams, gels, suppositories, and film)	28	18	42
Fertility awareness–based methods	24	—	47
Withdrawal	22	4	46
Condom
Female	21	5	41
Male	18	2	43
Diaphragm	12	6	57
Combined pill and progestin-only pill	9	0.3	67
Contraceptive patch	9	0.3	67
Contraceptive ring	9	0.3	67
DMPA contraceptive injection	6	0.2	56
IUD
Copper T	0.8	0.6	78
Levonorgestrel	0.2	0.2	80
Single-rod contraceptive implant	0.05	0.05	84
Female sterilization	0.5	0.5	100
Male sterilization	0.15	0.10	100

Method	% of Women Experiencing an Unintended Pregnancy in the First Year of Use		% of Women Continuing Use at 1 Year^a
	Typical Use^b	Perfect Use^c
No method	85	85	—
Spermicides (foams, creams, gels, suppositories, and film)	28	18	42
Fertility awareness–based methods	24	—	47
Withdrawal	22	4	46
Condom
Female	21	5	41
Male	18	2	43
Diaphragm	12	6	57
Combined pill and progestin-only pill	9	0.3	67
Contraceptive patch	9	0.3	67
Contraceptive ring	9	0.3	67
DMPA contraceptive injection	6	0.2	56
IUD
Copper T	0.8	0.6	78
Levonorgestrel	0.2	0.2	80
Single-rod contraceptive implant	0.05	0.05	84
Female sterilization	0.5	0.5	100
Male sterilization	0.15	0.10	100

—, data not available.

Among couples attempting to avoid pregnancy, the percentage who continue to use a method for 1 y.

Among typical couples who initiate use of a method (not necessarily for the first time), the percentage who experience an accidental pregnancy during the first year if they do not stop use for any other reason. Estimates of the probability of pregnancy during the first year of typical use for spermicides, withdrawal, periodic abstinence, the diaphragm, the male condom, the pill, and Depo-Provera are taken from the 1995 and 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, corrected for underreporting of abortion; see the text for the derivation of estimates for the other methods.

Among couples who initiate use of a method (not necessarily for the first time) and who use it perfectly (both consistently and correctly), the percentage who experience an accidental pregnancy during the first year if they do not stop use for any other reason.

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