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getting pregnant while on birth control
What would you say are the chances of pregnancy while on birth control? Like, if you have sex with no condoms and he doesn't pull out, etc.?
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The numbers Peeps gave are if everything goes perfectly.
Your chances go up if you miss a pill, take other medication (one example -antibiotics), eat certain foods (one example - grapefruit juice) that interfere with the pill. Smoking make increases your chance of becoming pregnant while on the pill. So does where you store your pills. If it is too hot or damp the pills become less effective.
Get a list of things that interfere with the pill from your doctor. Inform them of new medications and even vitamins or supplements (for example St John's wort can interfere with the effectiveness of birth control pills) before you take them.
If you are having sex with someone you can't see in your life long term it is always best to use a condom as well as the pill.
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Hormonal birth control pills are only about 92% effective on preventing pregnancies.
That's about an 8% chance of actually getting pregnant while using the pill.
This percentage is taking into account regular human changes and abnormalities. This includes daily stress, irregular eating habits (not eating the same exact food at the same exact time every day), various minor hormonal fluctuations, growth periods, etc. The 99% effective percentage they advertise is from clinical studies in laboratory settings. There is absolutely no way you're going to mimic those results while leading a regular life.
So...
Chances? About 8% chance when using no back-up method.
You must also take into account that many women never even know they are pregnant because of very-early miscarriages. Many women who end up pregnant while on the pill may never know they lost an early term baby. Remember miscarriages can happen as early as 1 day after fertilization of the egg. The percentage given is not perfect because of this but it give you a better estimate in real life.
Note that no contraceptive, oral or otherwise, will protect you from STDs. You're still at full risk of those.
You should always use a back-up method just to be safer. A condom is about 83% effective on preventing pregnancies. If you used a condom AND an oral contraceptive then the risk of pregnancy is dramatically lower.
Nothing is perfect though and nothing is absolutely 100% safe when it comes to preventing pregnancies. Each time you have sex you will be taking the risk of possibly getting pregnant. Accidents happen. Condoms break. The pill fails. It happens and you should be prepared to deal with those consequences if you are ever faced with them.
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