Birth control Question

dxkj

Lifer
Feb 17, 2001
11,772
2
81
Patch/Pill give a 97% (or somewhere around there) chance of not getting pregnant. That leaves a 3% chance of getting pregnant. I always wondered.... does that mean per time having sex? per 100 times having sex, per year? And if it is per year, how many times of sex per year does that mean on average?

Just curious about that and havnt found the answer online yet. I figured it wasnt per time having sex, because that would drop you to 1/33 chance of getting pregnant.
 

calvinbiss

Golden Member
Apr 5, 2001
1,745
0
0
My chicks pill says 99.3 or 99.7, I can't remember which. We have never used a condom in 4 years.

Edit: guess i should add that we don't have any kids or abortions.
 

gopunk

Lifer
Jul 7, 2001
29,239
2
0
no the pill is 99.99% accurate or something like that.

if it says 97, that's probably including people being dumb. a lot of people will try to tell you they got pregnant while on the pill. in the *vast vast* majority of these cases, it turns out they did something wrong... took some medication they weren't supposed to, vomited, missed a day.. etc
 

notfred

Lifer
Feb 12, 2001
38,241
4
0
All the statistics I've seen are per year.

99% effective means that if you are sexually active for a year, using the pill, you only have a 1% chance of getting pregnant.
 

CaseTragedy

Platinum Member
Oct 24, 2000
2,690
0
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Originally posted by: calvinbiss
My chicks pill says 99.3 or 99.7, I can't remember which. We have never used a condom in 4 years.

Edit: guess i should add that we don't have any kids or abortions.

but do you have sex? =D
 

dxkj

Lifer
Feb 17, 2001
11,772
2
81
Originally posted by: gopunk
no the pill is 99.99% accurate or something like that.

yeah Im not sure the exact number, the midwest midwifery people were being really conservative in their numbers.



But even at 99.7 percent. Is that per time having sex? Per year? etc? That was the main question


even at 99.7% that means 1/300 times _____ (per time, per year, etc) 300 years is bettear than 300 times :)
 

dxkj

Lifer
Feb 17, 2001
11,772
2
81
Originally posted by: notfred
All the statistics I've seen are per year.

99% effective means that if you are sexually active for a year, using the pill, you only have a 1% chance of getting pregnant.

k thanks , that what I was wondering.
 

zixxer

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2001
7,326
0
0
I researched this as well, before talking to my chicks doctor.

he said that the error accounts for patient error. That if you take it at the SAME time EVERY day there is (virtually) no chance.

 

dxkj

Lifer
Feb 17, 2001
11,772
2
81
We are actually on the patch system, changes the patch every thursday night, and the patch allows a window of a day, so Im feeling a bit safer that way
 

batmang

Diamond Member
Jul 16, 2003
3,020
1
81
well, heres what i dont get. i havent read through the manual completely, but when skimming through the patch manual. i noticed it said that the egg isnt even released at all. the patch keeps the egg from even being released. so if no egg is released, how can there even be a chance at all of pregnancy? i guess theres always the factor of placing the patch on late, or forgetting to change it. but if your wearing it the way your supposed to, i bet the patch is the most effective birth controll out there.

 

dxkj

Lifer
Feb 17, 2001
11,772
2
81
Originally posted by: batmang
well, heres what i dont get. i havent read through the manual completely, but when skimming through the patch manual. i noticed it said that the egg isnt even released at all. the patch keeps the egg from even being released. so if no egg is released, how can there even be a chance at all of pregnancy? i guess theres always the factor of placing the patch on late, or forgetting to change it. but if your wearing it the way your supposed to, i bet the patch is the most effective birth controll out there.

They say there is a chance that the egg could be released.... the egg isnt released because birth control fools the body into thinking its pregnant (right?) or something like that, so no egg is released. Also the "lining" is much thinner, so the chance of the random egg that might get released being fertilized and attaching to the lining is also much lower.
 

gopunk

Lifer
Jul 7, 2001
29,239
2
0
Originally posted by: dxkj
Originally posted by: batmang
well, heres what i dont get. i havent read through the manual completely, but when skimming through the patch manual. i noticed it said that the egg isnt even released at all. the patch keeps the egg from even being released. so if no egg is released, how can there even be a chance at all of pregnancy? i guess theres always the factor of placing the patch on late, or forgetting to change it. but if your wearing it the way your supposed to, i bet the patch is the most effective birth controll out there.

They say there is a chance that the egg could be released.... the egg isnt released because birth control fools the body into thinking its pregnant (right?) or something like that, so no egg is released. Also the "lining" is much thinner, so the chance of the random egg that might get released being fertilized and attaching to the lining is also much lower.

exactly right. that's how the morning-after pill works as well (which is why it's funny when pro-lifers think it's an abortion pill)
 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
Basically, you don't get pregnant on the pill unless you fsck up. If you take the pills correctly, you simply won't get pregnant.

If you do.. buy a lottery ticket. :p

My gal has been on the pill for about a year and 4 months now. No problems, and it's great. :)
 

Regs

Lifer
Aug 9, 2002
16,666
21
81
That percentage always made me think. Does that mean you, yourself have a 97% chance of not fertilizing a egg. Or does it mean that 97% of woman who take won't get pregnant. Meaning if you are one of the un lucky 3% you are going to have a baby no matter what.
 

amnesiac

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
15,781
1
71
What you have to understand in clinical trials is that the percentages are taken from a very wide range of people -- hundreds of subjects are used to determine the effectiveness of these products.

There is always room for error in ANY scientific trial. Some subjects may be using the medication incorrectly or skipping doses. This is not always reported, due to misinformation, negligence, or embarrassment.

Keep in mind that first, there is actually a small, ~12 hour window when a woman is actually ovulating and capable of getting pregnant. Sperm can stay alive in a woman's body from 2-7 days. With these two conditions met, I believe chance of fertilization is either between 60-85%.

I should also mention that my g/f is on the new patch - OrthoEvra. Seems to work pretty well and since it's only a once/week change, a lot less to worry about.
 

Mannkind

Senior member
Mar 19, 2000
648
0
76
You guys are mistaken with your figures...
Taken from Not2late.com (Emergancy Contraceptive Info ... also can be found at plannedparenthood.org
" Use of this pill cuts the chance of pregnancy by 75%. This statement does not mean that 25% of women using ECPs will become pregnant. Rather, if 100 women had unprotected intercourse once during the second or third week of their cycle, about 8 would become pregnant; following treatment with ECPs, only 2 would become pregnant: a 75% reduction. " This is the use of emergancy contraceptive.
8/100 get pregnant = .08
.75 * .8 = .06
.08-.06 = .02 * 100 = 2 people using EC
.08*.997 = .0797
.08-.0797 = .0003 * 100 = .03 people using Birthcontrol
The EC is 75% effective, cutting your risk from 8 to 2....
Now the regular BC pill, taken properly is 99.7% effective ... cutting your risk from 8 to .03

Here is the math :) I believe I did it right.
8/100 get pregnant = .08
.75 * .8 = .06
.08-.06 = .02 * 100 = 2 people using EC
.08*.997 = .0797
.08-.0797 = .0003 * 100 = .03 people using Birthcontrol


EDIT: For clarification, "you guys" refers to the people who said taking birthcontrol that is 97 percent effective, that you have a 3% chance of getting pregnant, that was wrong ;) Besides, most birthcontrol now days is more effective than steralization. to quote PP.org
"Sterilization is more than 99 percent effective in the first year. In following years, there is a limited possibility that tubes may reconnect by themselves."
While birthcontrol is 99.7 percent effective :)