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Every birth control method has a failure rate, even for perfect use, never mind for average use. If all else stays the same but the amount of sex goes up, the

by smeej 4y ago

Every birth control method has a failure rate, even for perfect use, never mind for average use. If all else stays the same but the amount of sex goes up, the number of babies will also go up. Are the 25yo couples who are having more sex making other changes to decrease likelihood of pregnancy? Realistically? Probably not. They probably use their birth control the same way they always have, since it previously worked fine for the amount of sex they were having before. They don't necessarily think, "Oh, I'm increasing the odds that I'll get hit by the failure rate," especially if the way they've been using it has been "successful" for years.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
Is it possible the failure rates get so low with modern birth control that it is almost impossible to offset with increased amount of sex? Specifically, IUDs. https://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/birth-control-pills-patches-and-devices/birth-control-failure/ https://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/birth-cont... Even the pill is listed at 9%, which is low, and of course, abortion is the last resort to completely prevent a birth. For couples who are finished having children, a vasectomy also basically has a 0% failure rate.
- alocasia-1 4y ago
  Those are annual rates, so 9% is not low. (Planned Parenthood puts it at 7% annually, which is still 48% failure over ten years!) https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/birth-control-pill/how-effective-is-the-birth-control-pill https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/birth-...
  - smeej 4y ago
    This is an important point. The failure rate measures, "If 100 people otherwise capable of becoming pregnant have an average amount of otherwise potentially procreative sex for a year, how many of them will get pregnant?" Nine out of every hundred is a LOT to start out with. And if the "average amount of otherwise potentially procreative sex" part increases by, say, 11%, you get one new pregnancy out of every hundred.

by smeej 4y ago

lotsofpulp 4y ago

Is it possible the failure rates get so low with modern birth control that it is almost impossible to offset with increased amount of sex? Specifically, IUDs. https://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/birth-control-pills-patches-and-devices/birth-control-failure/ https://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/birth-cont... Even the pill is listed at 9%, which is low, and of course, abortion is the last resort to completely prevent a birth. For couples who are finished having children, a vasectomy also basically has a 0% failure rate.

alocasia-1 4y ago
Those are annual rates, so 9% is not low. (Planned Parenthood puts it at 7% annually, which is still 48% failure over ten years!) https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/birth-control-pill/how-effective-is-the-birth-control-pill https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/birth-...
- smeej 4y ago
  This is an important point. The failure rate measures, "If 100 people otherwise capable of becoming pregnant have an average amount of otherwise potentially procreative sex for a year, how many of them will get pregnant?" Nine out of every hundred is a LOT to start out with. And if the "average amount of otherwise potentially procreative sex" part increases by, say, 11%, you get one new pregnancy out of every hundred.