More than 1.8 million women worldwide have already made the switch to Natural Cycles. As well as an FDA Cleared birth control method, Natural Cycles can also be used to plan a pregnancy when the time is right. 100% hormone-free and tailored to you, Natural Cycles puts you in control of your own fertility journey. Are you ready to join our community of Cyclers?
How Effective is the Pull Out Method?
In this post, we’re going to take a look at what the pull out method is, how it works, and its effectiveness as a method of contraception. We’ll also cover some other potential birth control options with higher effectiveness rates than the pull out method. So join us as we revisit some sex ed basics and answer the question, ‘how effective is pulling out?’.
What is pulling out?
Also known as withdrawal, the pull out method is used to prevent pregnancy by removing the penis from the vagina before ejaculation happens. The pull out method is one of the oldest methods of birth control recorded, and while contraceptive technology has advanced pretty far since then, the pull out method remains, well, a little primitive.
How effective is the pull out method?
As with other birth control methods, the pull out method’s effectiveness comes down to how it’s used. With typical use, the pull out method is 80% effective. If used perfectly, the pull out method is 96% effective at preventing pregnancy. However, this is very hard to do, as perfect use involves predicting ejaculation and pulling out before it happens.
Typical use effectiveness reflects how a birth control method is typically used, and in the case of the pull out method it’s lower than perfect use, since it’s not possible to always get that crucial timing right. An 80% typical use effectiveness means that, on average, 20 out of 100 couples using this method will get pregnant in a year of use. Find out more about the difference between typical and perfect use when it comes to birth control effectiveness.
Does the pull out method work?
Even when the pull out method is used perfectly, there will always be a risk of unintended pregnancy. Of course, no birth control method is 100% effective, but some methods are closer to being fully effective than others…
When withdrawal is timed right and is used perfectly, there is still a risk of pregnancy due to pre-ejaculate or pre-cum. This can enter the vagina before ejaculation and just like regular ejaculate it contains sperm, so can still cause pregnancy.
More birth control options
If you are already using, or thinking about using, the pull out method as a means of birth control, it’s worth knowing that you’ve got other options available, and many of these are more effective at preventing pregnancy than the pull out method. If you’re thinking about switching birth control, it’s worth having a conversation with your healthcare provider and read up on all your options before making a choice.
We know some couples choose withdrawal because they don’t want to use hormonal birth control methods or other contraceptive options, for various reasons. Below are a few alternative birth control methods that should be considered as a more reliable method than pulling out:
The copper IUD
One of the most effective birth control methods out there, the copper IUD is completely hormone-free. It’s more than 99% effective, due to there being very little human error involved as the copper IUD is fitted into the uterus by a healthcare professional, and it can stay there and be used as birth control for several years.
If fitted up to five days after unprotected sex, the copper IUD can also be used as emergency birth control. This method is long-acting and invasive and it does have its own downsides, with some women reporting side effects like heavier periods and pain after the fitting.
Condoms
An over-the-counter birth control option that’s also used for protecting against sexually transmitted infections, condoms are 87% effective with typical use and are 98% effective at preventing pregnancy with perfect use.
Latex-free condoms are now available for those with allergies, and the technology of condom design has come a long way since the early days. However, we know that not everyone wants to use condoms all the time, and for many couples, it makes more sense to opt for a different birth control method they’re more comfortable using.
The mini pill/progestin-only pill
Unlike the regular combined pill, the mini pill doesn’t contain any synthetic estrogen. Instead, it contains progestin, a synthetic version of the sex hormone progesterone. This is useful for women who want to use a birth control pill, but for those whom synthetic estrogen isn’t an option.
With perfect use, the mini pill is 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. With typical use, it’s 92% effective. Just like other hormonal birth control options, the mini pill is reported to have side effects for some women such as changes to libido and mood.
Natural Cycles
In 2018, Natural Cycles became the first FDA Cleared birth control app available in the US. It’s a combination of the basal body temperature method and an algorithm that learns the pattern of your unique menstrual cycle so you are aware of your own fertile window (that’s right, you can’t get pregnant every day of your cycle).
Natural Cycles is 93% effective with typical use and it’s 98% effective with perfect use. The method requires the use of condoms or abstaining from sex on fertile days – users of the app should know that using the pull out method on fertile days is classed as unprotected sex.
So, how effective is the pull out method?
In reality, a method’s effectiveness comes down to how you go about using that method, and it’s a very individual thing. However, pulling out is consistently tricky to time, and even when used perfectly there is still some risk that cannot be reduced. We know the pull out method remains popular, partly because of its ease of availability, but also because there is a wider knowledge gap when it comes to our reproductive health options.
At Natural Cycles we do not advise the use of withdrawal as a means of birth control. Instead, we encourage individuals to research birth control methods and discuss contraceptive options with a healthcare professional to find one that best suits their lifestyle.
Take control of your fertility
More than 1.8 million women worldwide have already made the switch to Natural Cycles. As well as an FDA Cleared birth control method, Natural Cycles can also be used to plan a pregnancy when the time is right. 100% hormone-free and tailored to you, Natural Cycles puts you in control of your own fertility journey. Are you ready to join our community of Cyclers?
How effective is pulling out?
If you do it correctly, pulling out is a pretty effective way of preventing pregnancy. But it can be hard to do it the right way every time. Pulling out also doesn’t protect against STDs, so using a condom is a good idea – both to help prevent STDs, and to add extra pregnancy prevention.
How effective is the pull out method?
The better you are about using the pull out method correctly — keeping any ejaculation (cum) away from the vulva and vagina every single time you have sex — the better it will work to prevent pregnancy. For every 100 people who use the pull out method perfectly, 4 will get pregnant.
But pulling out can be difficult to do perfectly. So in real life, about 22 out of 100 people who use withdrawal get pregnant every year — that’s about 1 in 5.
The reality is withdrawal isn’t as effective as other types of birth control, but it’s definitely better than not using anything at all. And pulling out can be easily combined with other methods to give you extra pregnancy preventing power. Using withdrawal AND condoms together, for example, gives you pretty excellent protection against pregnancy.
If you use withdrawal for birth control, it’s a good idea to keep emergency contraception (aka the morning-after pill) around, just in case semen (cum) gets in or near your vagina. Emergency contraception can prevent pregnancy for up to 5 days after unprotected sex.
Want to use a more effective form of birth control? Check out the IUD and the implant. They’re the most effective kinds of birth control.
Does pulling out always work? Can I still get pregnant? | Planned Parenthood Video
Does pulling out always work? Can I still get pregnant? | Planned Parenthood Video
More questions from patients:
There’s no way to know your exact chances of pregnancy in a particular situation. What we do know is that withdrawal works about 78% of the time overall. But the odds of pregnancy are always higher during the 5 days leading up to, and during, ovulation — these are called fertile days.
If no semen gets on your vulva or in your vagina , pregnancy can’t happen — whether or not you’re ovulating. But it’s sometimes hard for people to know if they pulled out completely before any semen (cum) came out. And some people may also have a tiny bit of sperm in their pre-cum . If sperm gets in your vagina during your fertile days, pregnancy is more likely to happen.
It’s also hard to know for sure exactly when you ovulate, even if you’re tracking your cycle. Many people’s cycles change from month to month. And lots of things (like stress or illness) can mess with your cycle and change the timing of ovulation.
The bottom line is, there are lots of different factors that can affect your chances of getting pregnant. If you’re really worried about preventing pregnancy, you might want to look into methods of birth control that are more effective than pulling out (like IUDs, the implant, the shot, or the pill). You can also use condoms along with pulling out — that way you’ll still be protected from pregnancy even if your partner doesn’t pull out in time (and you’ll be protected from STDs, too).
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