Thinking about stopping birth control? Tracking can take a lot of work and effectiveness can vary a lot.
This post was made in collaboration between @pwhrcanada and @scienceupfirst
Resources
Fertility Awareness-Based Methods of Family Planning | ACOG
Contraceptive Effectiveness in the United States | Guttmacher Institute
In real life, sex isn’t always predictable, condoms can break, you forget to track your symptoms one morning, or don’t have a barrier method on hand. Sometimes, there are even more serious barriers like partner pressure or violence. That’s why public health experts usually focus on typical use: how a method works for most people in everyday situations. However, perfect use stats (when everything is done exactly right) are included below if you’re curious.
| Pregnancy in first year if methods are used perfectly. | |
| Calendar method | 50 pregnancies/1000 people(95% effective) |
| Cervical mucus only (e.g. Billings, TwoDay method) | 10-40 pregnancies/1000 people (96-99% effective) |
| Natural Cycles app (body temperature and calendar) | 20 pregnancies/1000 people (98% effective) |
| Symptothermal (body temperature, cervical mucus, and possibly urinary hormone check) | Fewer than 10 pregnancies/1000 people (more than 99% effective for Sensiplan and Marquette methods) |
Sources
- Fertility Awareness-Based Methods of Family Planning | ACOG
- Natural family planning | NHS
- Lactation amenorrhea method (LAM) | MyHealthAlberta
- Postpartum contraception: the lactational amenorrhea method | The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care | August 2009
- Fertility Awareness | Planned Parenthood
- Contraceptive Effectiveness in the United States | Guttmacher Institute | April 2020
- SOGC Position Statement on the Natural Cycles App as a Contraceptive Method | Canada Commons
- Contraceptive failure in the United States | Contraception an international reproductive health journal | May 2011
- Birth Control Guide (Chart) | U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
- Fertility awareness-based (FAB) methods | MyHealthAlberta
- Are fertility awareness methods right for me? | Planned Parenthood
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