how do I know how effective my combo pill is

[tolkienfan]

I have been on the pill for around 6months now, and I am just curious regarding its efficacy.
I have often read online that in reality, the pill is only 91-93% effective, and that only in lab settings is it 95-98% effective.
However, whenever I read about what decreases the efficacy of the pill, it always says things like: skipping a pill, starting a new pill pack late, certain medications.
I am not on any medication, and I've never missed a pill. I always take my pill between 6.30am-9am (depending on when my classes start).
If I ever had sex without a condom in the future, could I rely on my pill to protect me? Or would my protection rate be better with an IUD?

[HannahP]

Hi there tolkienfan! You have the right idea about the effectiveness rates. Our article on the combo pill (Birth Control Bingo: The Combination Pill) cites a couple of different organizations' effectiveness rates and taken together, it's about 91-92% effective typical use and over 99% effective perfect use. Those typical use rates do cover things like skipping a pill, not following the correct instructions for how to start the pill, etc. There's a question in this article (look for the one "Annie" submitted) that is very similar to yours and our director Heather wrote a great answer: Quick Hits: Questions and Answers on The Pill

Like Annie in that article, it sounds like you are taking your pill as perfectly as a human being can. There is still a small margin of error, one that can't really be quantified exactly for a single person — it is technically possible that there could be a manufacturing error or something weird could happen in your own body, so if that small amount of risk still worries you, using a backup method is a great idea (and condoms are always a good idea because they are the only form of birth control that also protects against STIs!). But also, many people in the world do rely on their combination pill as their only form of birth control. It's up to each person to decide what level of risk they're comfortable with.

As for the IUD, IUDs have over a 99% effectiveness rate, both typical and perfect use, since there is no responsibility on the person who has the IUD to use it correctly. Some people feel much more relaxed and safe with a form of birth control that they can just forget about and trust to do it's job, while other people have no problem taking a pill every day and it doesn't cause them undue stress to manage. So it's really just a personal preference.