Contraceptive Pill

[manfamain]

Hey Scarleteen,

I started using the combined pill a couple of months ago and it's been great. I've had a lot of peace of mind when using condoms as well. However, sometimes being more spontaneous I haven't used a condom and relied soley on the pill. Is this a good idea? The past few days I've been worrying as I'm unsure if it'll work effectively. Could I be that 0.3% that it fails on?

Thanks,
Samantha

[Karyn]

Anyone can be part of that 0.3%. So, it depends how comfortable you are with that level of risk. Using two methods is always going to offer the highest level of protection possible, and condoms have the added benefit of providing protection against STIs as well, so we will always recommend using them. Ultimately though it's up to you.

[manfamain]

Thanks! Is combining the pill with the pull out method a good way of again lowering the chances of pregnancy? I understand condoms are the most effective but I tend to get rashes from the latex

[Karyn]

There's a list of all possible combinations of two methods, and their effectiveness rates with both typical and perfect use, right here: The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Second Method

If you like the idea of using condoms but find that latex is a problem, there are non-latex condoms available, although not as wide a selection. Internal (female) condoms are also non-latex, so you may want to give those a try too. You can read more about all the available condom options in this piece: Your Map to the Condom Aisle