To think the withdrawal method isn't a method of contraception??

[chuttypicks]

Exactly as the title really. I've seen several threads on here recently where people are asking if they could possibly be pregnant as they're having all the symptoms of it, but didn't think they could be as they've been using the withdrawal method....

Surely that isn't actually a method of contraception though. To my knowledge there is live sperm in pre-ejaculate so even if the man withdraws prior to full ejaculation, there is still a good chance of being pregnant. Why do people not know this, and surely this is the sort of thing that only teenagers believe will work?

I'm really surprised at how many adults seem to think this is an acceptable/reliable form of contraception. Am I totally wrong? What am I missing?

Actually the vast majority of pre-cum doesn't contain live or any sperm. So it's very rare to become pregnant from pre-cum.

americanpregnancy.org/getting-pregnant/can-you-get-pregnant-with-precum/

First of all why? What is the need for this pointless thread

Secondly, no there MAY be live sperm in pre-ejaculation but not always. Ask your good friend google.

Apparently it is 96% effective, if done correctly. But I guess that the crucial point is 'if it is done correctly'.

No contraception is 100% Not even vasectomy/sterilisation.

It is, just not one I would use because of concerns about reliability.

Probably also because at the key moment a raging bull charging the bed wouldn't get my DH to "withdraw". Or maybe that's just us!

Plus when you get to a certain post 35, post 40, your chances naturally of conceiving are lower too. Some people are in the space where they don’t want another baby but it wouldn’t be a disaster if they did get pg.

My DH and I use it and it seems to work. As soon as we started TTC I fell pregnant so it's fair to assume we are both fertile.

Then again we are happily married, financially secure and wouldn't mind more kids. So if we did accidentally get pregnant it would be a nice surprise. If we really seriously didn't want to get pregnant then we would use contraception. Prior to marriage I had a coil in and we also used condoms.

It’s not a contraceptive method, I completely agree. It was used for many years before actual contraception existed but how many families had lots of children? It’s just not very effective, most men don’t pull out on time.

The old joke goes "What do you call a couple who believe in withdrawal? Parents."

www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/how-effective-contraception/

Interesting statistics -

Natural family planning

Perfect use: can be up to 99% effective  if the natural family planning methods are followed precisely. These include monitoring cervical secretions and your basal body temperature. It's more effective if more than one method is used and it's taught by specialist teachers. Up to 1 in 100 women will get pregnant in a year when using this method perfectly.

Typical use: around 76% effective. Around 24 in 100 women using natural family planning will get pregnant in a year.

Diaphragms and caps

Perfect use: 92-96% effective. Between 4 and 8 women in 100 who use a diaphragm or cap with spermicide will get pregnant in a year.

Typical use: around 71-88% effective. Between 12 and 29 women in 100 using a diaphragm or cap will get pregnant in a year.

Male condoms

Perfect use: 98% effective. This means that 2 in 100 women whose partners use a condom will get pregnant in a year.

Typical use: around 82% effective. This means around 18 in 100 women will get pregnant in a year.

And so forth . 1 in 10 will get pregnant on any form of pill

DP and I used this method successfully for about four years. The result of the one time we used it slightly unsuccessfully is now in the first year of secondary school.

Depends how much self control the man has.
It's only unreliable if it's not done properly.
There is no sperm in pre-cum.

Sperm has to enter the body to make a baby...

I have been using it successfully for 10 years. I had no problem getting pregnant when I did want children. I had the mirena fitted after my last pregnancy and it caused awful mood issues, then they couldn't find the bloody thing.

I think when used correctly it’s effective enough that I can understand why many couples use it, especially if a pregnancy wouldn’t be unwelcome. It’s the same as using ovulation tracking methods for trying to conceive but in reverse, so you know when you are not fertile.

We used this method for 27 years. I've had one accidental pregnancy and three planned (and very quickly conceived ones) in that time.

Yanbu. It’s about 78% effective so it should only be used by couples who are absolutely happy to take a really big risk on becoming pregnant. It’s astonishing how many couples are willing to take that risk when they actually don’t want to be pregnant, though...

It doesn’t sound much fun.

We used this successfully for two years or so (wouldn't have been a disaster if I fell pregnant). We then started TTC and I got pregnant with no issues.

Research on whether there is sperm in precum is mixed. I suspect most pregnancies from this method are failed withdrawals and bad timing. Or having sex shortly after previous intercourse.

I'm really surprised at how many of you have used this "method" successfully. I think I just remember being a teen and being told that even if the man pulls out prior to ejaculation, you could still get pregnant!!

I didn't realise until the last week or so when there have been a couple of threads on here about it, that it was actually something that people actually did and had found successful.

Thanks for your input guys. You learn something new everyday I guess!

Looks like this is in response to my thread. We did it for years and had no accidents as I'm sure many others have done the same.

It's less effective than other forms of contraception but actually not drastically so. If used perfectly it's actually fairly effective the main issue is the effective use is less than perfect (however this is true for all forms of contraception).

It worked brilliantly for us - in conjunction with common sense!

We used it without issue for 6 years, but tracked cycles using an app and avoided the most fertile days or used condoms.

We decided started TTC and got pregnant in less than a year - and we were 40 and 45 at the time.

DH has excellent "control" though due to loss of sensitivity from medical circumcision and an earlier pregnancy would not have been a disaster. I also have very regular cycles. So for us it was great.

But also depends if the man can pull out in time

We used it for a few years, but were in our very late thirties, with a high likelihood of reduced fertility and a pregnancy wouldn't have been disastrous. No pregnancy resulted.

I wouldn't actually recommend it as a contraceptive method though.