Scarleteen

On last Wednesday, I had sex with my partner using a condom. A condom was used the entire time during intercourse. He pulled out and no tears were evident. My first question- Is it obvious when a condom tears or is there really such a thing as micro tears? I am also on the pill which I take every day. I haven’t skipped any pills in over a year. What is the effectiveness of using condoms but backing up with the pill?

Hi kgirl18,

Yes, when a condom breaks it is going to be very obvious, like a big tear. Sometimes the person actually feels when a break occurs, but if they don't they'll definitely notice the break when they pull out.

In terms of the effectiveness of combining the pill with condoms, you can find the effectiveness level listed in this article: The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Second Method

If condoms are only 98% effective with perfect use, what makes up the other 2%? I mean if the condom doesn't break, does that mean you can still be pregnant? Or is the 2% considered for user error? I hope that makes sense.

The 98% means that even if the person using the condom uses it correctly every time for all genital contact, there is still a very small chance that the condom will fail in some way, such as breaking. Too, it may help to remember that the effectiveness rate is figured for a year of use, no just one instance, which means that condoms can be 100% effective during an individual instance of use. As long as a condom doesn't break or come off, you can assume it worked as intended. Does that all make sense?

Yes, that makes sense! Thank you! So I can assume that if the condom doesn’t break, slip, etc. plus I’m backing up with the pill then I should be covered? I want to be as safe as possible.

You're welcome! And yep, if they don't break or come all the way off you can assume they did their job. Too, because you're backing up with the pill, even if a condom were to break you'd have a very high level of protection.

Thank you for your help!!

You're very welcome!