A large test of methods of birth control has found that more women in the U.S. get pregnant when using methods that are short acting like patches, pills and vaginal rings. The highest failure rate for these types of contraception were with females younger than 21.
On Wednesday, a new study was released involving 7,500 teens and women in the area of St. Louis. The participants were able to choose the type of contraceptive method they wanted at no cost to them.
The study lasted for three years and there were 334 pregnancies that were unintended. Researchers found that women that used pills, patches or vaginal rings had failure rates 20 times higher than those who used long-lasting but reversible contraception. Contraception considered long term includes skin implants, hormone shots and intrauterine devices. Some previous research indicated that women had more unintended pregnancies using contraception requiring daily or weekly use.
In the study, an average of 4% to 5% of women became pregnant when using the ring, patch or pill each year. However, only 0.3% about one out of every 330 who opted to use a skin implant or IUD ended up with a pregnancy that was unplanned each year.
Only 176 in the study chose the hormone shot Depo-Provera that is good for 90 days, with two of them had unplanned pregnancies during the course of the study. IUDs, depending upon the brand, can prevent pregnancies for between five and ten years.
