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Sex can be fantastic, but to be honest, it can also be a giant headache, especially when you're female and having heterosex. One has to worry about STIs, how it affects a relationship, and pregnancy. To make some of that easier, we've provided this table of birth control methods. Think of it as Margaret Sanger's version of Disneyland.
Failure Rates: Average failure rates for each method based on each set of 100 users. Perfect use means what it sounds like: the rate when a method is used to the letter, without any user failure or nonuse. Typical use rates are for each method as it is typically used, accounting for usual failures and nonuse of users of that method. If a method's failure rate is listed as 2%/ 15%, that means it failed for 2 people out of 100 using it perfectly for one year, and 15 people out of 100 using it typically for one year.
Cost: Costs are shown with dollar amounts, from none to $$$ to indiacte relative cost. For exact cost for you in your area, talk to your healthcare provider.
Ease: The ease rating factors in not only the ease of say, putting on a condom or taking a pill, but in persuading your partner to use a condom or actually remembering to take your pills every day. The easiest method is a ten, the most difficult a 1.
PS?: If a method requires a doctor's prescription to obtain.
Health Risks: These are the risks to your physical person, not including pregnancy.
Sexual side effects: Quite often, sexual side effects a method may have for a user are dismissed. But since sex is about pleasure and enjoyment, knowing what methods might harsh your buzz -- and how -- is important.
STI protection: If a method offers sexually transmitted infection protection or not. Please remember that even condoms do not offer 100% STI protection.
For what may or may not be an obvious reason, abortion is not included as birth control in this form: primarily that is because birth control and contraception are methods used to prevent pregnancy, not to manage or terminate an existing pregrancy.
Before choosing any of these options, take care of yourself and choose wisely by going to a womens' clinic or gynecologist. In addition, birth control and STD protection -- unless you are USING A CONDOM -- are not the same thing. Any birth control method SHOULD be paired with a latex condom and other safer sex practices. Please -- we love you and want you to stay alive and well.
| Contraceptive Type | Failure Rates for Perfect Use/Typical Use | Cost | Ease | PS? | Health Risks | Sexual Side Effects | STI Protection | Overall Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celibacy (abstinence) | 0%/~60% | None | 7 | No | In perfect use, none. With typical use, high risk of STI transmission. | None, barring frustration. | Yes, when used perfectly. | No cost, easy to know if it failed, supports consent and communication. |
| Male condom | 2% / 15% | $ | 8 | No | None | When not used with additional lubricant, can cause genital irritation, decreased sensation | Yes, when used perfectly. | Offers excellent protection against BOTH pregnancy and STIs, allows male partner to also make reproductive choise, inexpensive and easy to get. |
| Female condom | 5% / 21% | $$ | 7 | No | None | When not used with additional lubricant, can cause genital irritation, decreased sensation | Yes | Offers excellent protection against BOTH pregnancy and STIs, allows female partners to be in control of barrier use, good for those with latex allergies, easy to get. |
| Dipahragm, Cervical Cap or Lea's Shield | 6-9% / 15-20% | $ | 7 | Yes for diaphragm and cap, No for Lea's Shield | Bladder infections, vaginitis | Spermicide used with these methods, and the barrier mechanism, can cause vaginal irritation | Possibly some (very) limited STI protection | can be inserted before sexual activity and used for multiple acts of intercourse, reusable, no hormonal side effects |
| Contraceptive Sponge | 20% / 32% | $ | 7 | No | May pose risk of toxic shock syndrome, yeast infections | Spermicide and material can cause genital irritation | No | Can be inserted before sexual activity and used for multiple acts of intercourse, no hormonal side effects |
| Oral Contraceptives (the pill) | less than 1% / 8% | $$ | 8 | Yes | Cardiovascular risks, breast cancer risks, weight gain, spotting, mood changes, and more. | may decrease libido and vaginal lubrication, may increase pain with intercourse | No | regulates monthly bleeding, can help with menstrual pain and PMS, may clear acne, easy to stop use if needed |
| NuvaRing (the ring) | less than 1% / 2% | $$ | 8 | Yes | Vaginitis, irritation, cardiovascular risks, breast cancer risks, weight gain, spotting, mood changes, and more. | vaginal irritation, decreased lubrication | No | Great for those who can't remember to take oral contraceptives daily. Similar benefits to oral contraceptives. Quicker reversibility than oral contraceptives. |
| Ortho-Evra (the patch) | less than 1% / 2% | $$ | 7 | Yes | Higher risk of stroke than other hormonal methods, skin irritation, breast cancer risks, weight gain, spotting, mood changes, and more. | may decrease libido and vaginal lubrication | No | Great for those who can't remember to take oral contraceptives daily. Similar benefits to oral contraceptives. Quicker reversibility for fertility than oral contraceptives. |
| Lunelle (monthly shot) | less than 1% / less than 1% | $$ | 9 | Yes | Cardiovascular risks, breast cancer risks, weight gain, spotting and irregular vaginal bleeding, changes in mood (depression), and more. | may decrease libido and vaginal lubrication, may increase pain with intercourse | No | Great for those who can't remember to take oral contraceptives daily. Similar benefits to oral contraceptives. Quicker reversibility for fertility than oral contraceptives. |
| Depo-Provera (the quarterly shot) | less than 1% / less than 1% | $$ | 9 | Yes | Breast cancer risks, risk of bone loss for younger women, menstrual irregularity or cessation, spotting, weight gain, headaches and more. | may decrease libido and increase nervousness | No | Smokers can use this hormonal method, no pregnancy worries for 12 weeks at a time |
| IUD (copper or hormone type) | less than 1% / less than 1% | $$ | 9 | Yes | IUDs are generally not advised for young women or those who have not previously been pregnant, increased risk of PID, greater bleeding/cramping with copper IUD, uterine injury, ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cysts, spotting, insertion pain or pain with wear | mood changes and decreased libido (with hormonal IUD) | No | Often a no-brainer, provides high level of protection, hormonal IUD may help with menstrual complaints. |
| Emergency Contraception | 10% / 25% | $$ | 9 | If over 18, no, if under 18 in many areas, yes. | Comprable to risks of oral contraceptives, but far lesser because not used daily | N/A | No | Excellent for when another method is known or suspected to have failed, or wasn't used, usable for sexual aassault victims after-the-fact, hormonal contraceptive that can (and is meant to) be used only in very limited use. |
| Spermicide (used alone) | 8% / 26% | $ | 8 | No | None (sparing STI risks) | genital irritation, may increase risk of yeast infections | No | If no other method is available, will provide some protection, easy to find, best used to beef up another method |
| Withdrawal (pulling out) | 4% / 28% (also has greater failures with young adults) | Free | 6 | No | High STI risks | anxiety, worry and frustration | No | Ultimately, none, save that when NO other method is available, it may offer some protection |
| Natural Family Planning/ Periodic Abstinence | 2% / 25% | None | 5 | No | STI risks | None (save stress and worry) | No | For women for whom other methods do not work or are not affordable, or for whom intercourse isn't a big part of sex lives, it can be a decent method. Best for use as a backup method. |
| Chance (no contraception) | 85% | None (save often winding up pregnant) | N/A | No | STI risks, high risk of pregnancy | anxiety and stress | No | None. |
Information on this table is compiled from several sources, including S.E.X., by Heather Corinna, Contraceptive Technology by Robert A. Hatcher, Our Bodies, Ourselves, by The Boston Women's Health Collective, as well as the websites for Planned Parenthood and the Cedar River Clinics.
Want some in-depth information on a method or two?
We don't include Tubal Ligation or Vasectomy in lists of methods at Scarleteen. This is not because we don't think young people should have the right to decide that they never want to have or bear children, nor because we think that younger people can't soundly make that decision. Rather, this is because it is nigh unto impossible for most younger people -- and in this case, I mean people under 30 and/or childfree -- to find a physician who will perform a sterilization. But if you'd like information on sterilization, you can find it here, and if you feel that is what is best for you, we'd certainly encourage you to talk to your healthcare provider about that option.
 | All About Birth Control: A Complete Guide author: Planned Parenthood asin: 0517885069 |
 | Contraceptive Technology -Trade 18th Ed. author: Robert A. Hatcher asin: 096649024X |
 | S.E.X.: Spelling Out All You Need to Know About Your Sexuality author: Heather Corinna asin: 1600940102 |
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