Contraceptive Use
in the United States
Key Resources
Quick Stats
• The typical American woman wants two children. To achieve this goal, she must use contraceptives for roughly three decades.[1]
• Virtually all American women aged 15–44 who are sexually experienced have at some point used a contraceptive method other than natural family planning (99%). This is also true of Catholic women, 98% of whom have used a contraceptive method other than natural family planning. [2]
• Modern contraception is highly effective. Among American women at risk for unintended pregnancy, the 65% who use a contraceptive method consistently and correctly account for only 5% of unintended pregnancies. The 19% who use a method inconsistently account for 43%, and the 16% who do not use a method at all account for 52%. [3]
• The most effective methods for preventing pregnancy are implants, vasectomy, tubal sterilization and IUDs (all more than 99% effective); injectables (94%); vaginal rings, patches and pills (all 91%); diaphragms (88%); and male condoms (82%).[4]
• Among American women who use contraceptives, the largest proportions use the pill (28%), tubal sterilization (27%) and the condom (16%). However, sterilization is the most common method among black and Hispanic women, while white women most commonly choose the pill. [5]
• In 2009, some 9% of women using contraceptives relied on long-acting reversible methods (the implant and the IUD). In 2002, this proportion was 2%.[6]
• Most women who use the pill do so to prevent pregnancy; however, more than half also identify noncontraceptive health benefits, such as treatment for excessive menstrual bleeding, menstrual pain and acne, as reasons for use. [7]
REFERENCES
Fact Sheets
Facts on Contraceptive Use in the United States
Minors’ Access to Contraceptive Services
Refusing to Provide Health Services
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