How many of you have conceived successfully after using the withdrawal method exclusively for years?

[Elsie2022]

DH and i have used the withdrawal method for 8 years and I have never been pregnant. Just wondering how common this is for couples without fertility problems...

The stats show that 1 in 5 women get pregnant using this method so I guess it doesn't bode well for me?

DH and I used this method for 12 months before we started trying for DD (if I had got pregnant before it would have been fine, we knew the risks) and then I fell pregnant with DD on the second month of trying.

We used the withdrawal method for a year and got pregnant 2 months after we stopped.
We've since used it for another 8 years and I've never been pregnant again.

I had no issues getting pregnant (4 pregnancies). I prefer not to think about how long I used the withdrawal "method" because it makes me cringe to think how naive I was, but it must have been at least 3 years.

@HistoricMoment its not great, i know, but I am a worrier and therefore dithering about TTC, so it may not be the worst thing to be on such a risky form of contraception. we have been married for years and own our flat and I am 29 so i guess its a good time to TTC? But I just can't make the decision now.

I have 2 DC and since my youngest have used the withdrawal method for 7 years. Have not fallen pregnant since so it could just be that you're really good at it.

We used that method for years, no babies. Both dc conceived 1st try - currently pregnant with the 2nd.

2 babies both conceived in the first month of trying after having used withdrawal for 10 ish years (it wouldn't have mattered if we had conceived in those years, just weren't quite ready to take the leap iyswim)

Your situation sounds completely different - I was with someone I never wanted children with, I knew our relationship wouldn't last, so I was incredibly naive to rely on such a risky form of contraception. But I didn't realise until I fell pregnant on my first cycle of ttc with my OH!

I hope ttc will work out for you whenever you decide to get started.

Withdrawal method all the way for 15 years almost. Only stopped for planned pregnancies (only one or two cycles). I usually feel when I ovulate so avoid that time.

Dh and I used withdrawal for four years, it then took us a further two years to fall pregnant as I was diagnosed with quite severe PCOS and had to take clomid to ovulate.

8 yrs wow!
Don't you find it ruins the sex though, I can't imagine being able to carry that on for so long, but hats off to you!

Withdrawal method is actually pretty good if done properly - Planned Parenthood cites 96% effectiveness if semen doesn't land on/in the vagina. The problem is that many people don't do it properly, don't always withdraw, or ejaculate on the vulva, hence the 78% "real world" effectiveness.
Withdrawal is the world's most popular form of contraception I believe, and tbh works well for many. It gets a slating on Mumsnet but my understanding (trained in public health) is that the largest risk factor for pregnancy on this method is user error. And that goes for the Pill and condoms too. Clearly for withdrawal it makes a big difference whether the man is confident in his awareness of approaching ejaculation and how good he is at timing things. I've had several friends who used withdrawal exclusively for 5+ years and then had no problem conceiving. I don't think you should worry just on this basis.

There's a nice investigation of the safety of the withdrawal method in this Scientific American article. It seems that most men do not produce sperm in pre-ejaculate, but a minority seem to. Therefore, how well withdrawal works for a couple may depend on whether the man is one of these chaps, rather than the couple's overall fertility.

8 yrs wow! Don't you find it ruins the sex though, I can't imagine being able to carry that on for so long, but hats off to you!

It doesn't ruin the sex at all! I track my cycles so know when I'm ovulating ( I can also feel it) so we use it during that time and just crack on as normal the rest of the time. We have sex pretty much everyday so it obviously works!

I can't take hormonal contraception and we never really got on with condoms. We've always said it wouldn't be a disaster if I did get pregnant but it certainly seems to work for us.

@DivorcedAndDelighted Thank you, its all very interesting. I know the NHS staff was not impressed at all!

@brookstar in the first few years of my marriage, i had sex daily too and we didn't get pregnant!