Condoms prevent pregnancy about 2 in 100 times when used correctly, but the number rises to 18 in 100 if they are not. They also greatly reduce the chance of catching an STD, especially HIV.
YRBS limitations:
1. Pregnancy Rate
As long as you use condoms consistently and correctly every time you have sex, they’re 98% effective at preventing pregnancy. But people aren’t perfect, so if you use condoms as your only birth control method and miss even one time, you could get pregnant. You might also contract a sexually transmitted disease like HIV.
In a controlled study of 1,562 volunteer couples, the rate of pregnancy dropped to nearly zero when both partners used condoms along with an additional form of birth control. This method, called a combined contraceptive or “method combination,” is the most effective way to prevent unintended pregnancies. It reduces the chance of getting an STI by up to 90% – This section is the work of the service’s editorial team Teen Sex Adventure.
Internal “female” condoms are less effective than male condoms: 5 out of 100 women will get pregnant using them in one year (with perfect use). But they’re still a great option to help decrease the risk of an STD. They’re often less painful than a rubber condom and work well for most women. Using them with another birth control method (such as a condom or diaphragm) makes them even more effective at lowering the risk of pregnancy.
Spermicide kills sperm and can come in many forms, including foam, cream, jelly, film, and suppositories. These are less effective than internal female condoms and tend to be more difficult to insert correctly. But they can be a good backup to use in case your condom breaks.
2. Birth Rate
Condoms are very effective at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) if they’re used correctly every time you have vaginal or oral sex. However, it’s not uncommon for people to misuse condoms. If you don’t leave space at the end of the condom, for example, it can break off and fail to protect against STIs. Or, you might forget to put the condom on before you have sex. Then, there’s the possibility that your partner might change the rhythm of sex or pull off the condom before you’re done.
According to a new study, these kinds of mistakes can have real consequences for young teens: The authors found that schools that gave students free condoms saw their teen birth rates go up by 10 percent. But they say that the increase wasn’t caused by condom programs in general, or even the presence of condoms at school—it was only in those schools that didn’t provide mandatory counseling about how to use the contraceptives.
That’s because the counseling teaches people about how to correctly use condoms, which is more likely to protect them from pregnancy and STDs. The research team tracked pregnancy rates before and after condom programs started in each school, separating out those that offered the condoms with counseling and those that didn’t. They also took into account broader societal trends that could have influenced the results.
3. STI Rate
Using condoms can reduce the risk of getting many different types of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. It’s important that both partners are comfortable with condom use and that they use them every time they have sex. It’s also important to have another method of birth control as a backup, in case the condom breaks.
Condoms should be promoted and made available as part of high-impact HIV, STI and pregnancy prevention programmes. Programmes should target people at high risk of HIV and other STIs, especially adolescents, sex workers and their clients, people who inject drugs, mobile populations, prison inmates and men who have sex with men. Stigma and discrimination should be addressed so that the effectiveness of condoms is maximised. It’s also important to increase the availability of the female condom, which is the only barrier contraceptive for women that gives them control over their protection against HIV and other STIs. This will give women more power to negotiate safe sex with their partners. Using male condoms in combination with the female condom is even more effective against HIV and other STIs. This approach is known as a total market approach, and it’s a key component of successful condom programmes. This involves community distribution, social marketing and private sector sales. It’s a proven model that can be replicated in countries with different contexts and resources.
4. Death Rate
When used perfectly every time, condoms are 98% effective at preventing pregnancy and STDs. But people aren’t perfect, and that means that a small percentage of people who use condoms will get pregnant each year.
Condoms can also be less effective than some other birth control methods when they break or are not used properly. The failure rate for different methods can vary from one type of contraceptive to another and depends on how difficult it is to use each method consistently and correctly.
The most common sexually transmitted diseases include HIV, chlamydia, and gonorrhea. These are easily prevented by using condoms and other effective, reversible methods of birth control.
Pregnancy prevention is one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century and offers many benefits, including reductions in global maternal mortality, improved adolescent health, increased female engagement in the workforce, economic self-sufficiency, and healthy families. Unfortunately, despite widespread recognition of the benefits, unintended pregnancy rates continue to increase globally, particularly among low-income women and minorities.
In the early 1990s, facing the threat of AIDS, districts from Colorado to California introduced condom-distribution programs in schools. The idea seemed simple: more condoms equals fewer teen pregnancies, and fewer teenage HIV infections. But according to a study published this month, it may have backfired. The researchers found that easy access to condoms made teens less likely to use them, and that they tended to switch from condoms to pill or other contraceptive methods as they matured and changed relationships.
