Discussing Condoms and Pregnancy

To really understand how effective condoms are you need to know the difference between method failure and user failure. The method failure is the failure rate as a result of a defect in the condom, while the use failure is the failure that comes from incorrectly using a condom or not using it consistently. Fortunately the method failure rate for condoms is very low.

This means that only about 3 pregnancies will occur in every 100 couples over a years worth of sexual activity due to an actual malfunction with the condom itself. User failure is higher than method failure. User failure rates are about 14% for couples using condoms for an entire year. This means that they did not use the condom properly or did not use a condom every time. This incorrect condom usage caused a pregnancy, but was not due to an actual defect in the condom itself. This is still very low compared to couples who do not use any form of birth control over a years time. For these couples, 85% of the women will become pregnant. This makes condom usage much more reliable than depending on the luck of the draw if you wish to prevent pregnancy.

For women who use abstinence once in a while to try to prevent pregnancy about 25 % of them will become pregnant. This periodic abstinence is known as the rhythm method to try to avoid sex during ovulation, but is not as safe as using a condom for pregnancy prevention.