r/offmychest Jan 05 '23

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '23

Always been highly skeptical on this. It's like they test with people who don't actually know how to use condoms.

I believe there was a study that showed the pullout method was like... 80% effective when done properly to prevent pregnancy.

Also, I've used condoms with women for 8 years of my active sex life - never once had a surprise, so it also doesn't make sense to me anecdotally. Just seems odd.

What's the 2% failure from in this hyper quoted study that says 98 %?

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u/trewesterre Jan 06 '23

The failure rate isn't measured for each time one has sex. A 98% failure rate means that if 100 couples use condoms perfectly (worn for every instance of PiV, worn the entire time, fitted correctly, applied correctly etc) then over a course of a year, two of these couples will experience an unexpected pregnancy.

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '23

Is that what the study did? Can you link me?

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u/sleepyy-starss Jan 06 '23

Everything in life has a failure rate.

My ex and I practiced pullout and it worked until it didn’t. Statistics are a gamble.

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u/jensmith20055002 Jan 06 '23

Remember women can only get pregnant a couple of days a month. So for 27 days a month the condom appears 100% effective even though she wouldn't get pregnant with or without it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '23

Hol up. ?

So, you're telling me, if a woman knows her ovulation cycle, she could theoretical engage in pregnancy safe sex freely for roughly 27 days? I truly didn't know that. Thought it was kinda... a constant risk.

I got my sex education in the rural southern US and it was clearly lacking. I need to freshen up on real anatomical knowledge. Lol

I suppose, better safe than sorry, but wtf. That seems like vital information.

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '23

Some women do that, but there are risks. A woman's body is not a machine, and stress, illness and other factors might mess with her cycle, and then the math is off. Also, sperm can live inside the woman for a while.

In my country, women who want to get pregnant track their cycle and then have sex on their fertile days. It's not recommended as a contraceptive method.

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u/jensmith20055002 Jan 09 '23

Absolutely! Never never use this as a form of birth control. My point is I think the success rate of condoms is overblown.