Implant is the most RELIABLE form of contraception

[watervole]

I was listening to a radio 4 statistics programme last night, and they made exactly the same point that Ben Goldacre is making here.  Namely that all contraceptives have failures and the question is not "How many women using it become pregnant?", but "What percentage of women using it become pregnant?"

As soon as you ask the second question, the contraceptive implant wins hands down.

Comments

[watervole]

Read the article - it will reassure you. Some of the pregnancies were from incorrect insertions, but not all.

All contraceptives have a failure rate. Condoms are one of the worst. Well over 10% of women using condoms for a year will end up pregnant.

With the implant, it's less then five pregnancies per 10,000 women per year.

According to Wikipedia, the implant is even more effective than male sterilisation. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_birth_control_methods

If you're concerned about getting pregnant, then the implant is both reliable and easy. (I've had a friend on it for many years now - still not pregnant)

[epistrophia]

You're right, the article is reassuring. To be honest, I didn't follow up the report when I heard it (I think I was still at my mum's) and I didn't realise it was 600+ women since the implant was first used. I'm still nervous about it, though. At least with the pill I'm more or less in control of my contraception, at least to the extent that if I forget to take it it's my own damn fault.

My mother's right: the BEST contraceptive is an aspirin. Held between the knees.

[watervole]

I nominate today as 'go shoot a journalist' day. I predict that many women will fall pregnant in the next twelve months as this irresponsible reporting will persuade them to abandon a reliable form of contraception in favour of a less reliable one.

A tiny percentage of those women will die due to abortions or childbirth, but that still won't discourage people from trying to whip up a scare story in order to sell more copies.

PS. Love your mum's comment about the aspirin!