Is it the pill itself that fails or...
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Is it the pill itself that fails or...
| Mon, 10-23-2006 - 11:38am |
is it the user? I was wondering when they say that the pill is 99% effective does that mean that it's 99% effective on it's own or is it due to the fact that the user is using it incorrectly? Like say taking it a little late, using supplements with it, throwing up before it's absorbed into the system, etc.? Even if you use it perfectly, are you just taking that 1% chance that maybe it just decides it won't work for you?

Most information about bc effectiveness, for any method, will actually list 2 measures of effectiveness: perfect use and typical use. Perfect use is studied in women who are carefully monitored to make sure they take the pill exactly as directed (see our FAQ on the details of what constitutes proper use). Typical use is studied in women taking the medication in the "real world" where people sometimes take a pill late, or get sick or take meds and have to use a backup method, and so forth. The difference between the perfect use and the typical use percentages give you a good approximation of how often the method fails due to mistakes in use and how often it fails just due to the fact that no method can be 100% effective except absitinance.
Now what does that 99% effectiveness rate mean? It means that in a clinical study of a group of women using the method for one year, 1% became pregnant. That's not the same as saying you have a 1% chance of getting pregnant. No one can really determine one person's chance of getting pregnant. It's not something you can really measure for one individual. It's hard to explain why, but it boils down to that's just not how statistics works. If 99% effectiveness isn't high enough, then you might consider using multiple methods. That will increase the effectiveness somewhat, but it is important to recognize that no method is 100%.