Were you surprised to hear that 4 out of every 100 times the pull out method is used, a pregnancy happens? So were we, kinda. If you absolutely don’t want

a baby, these are still some risky odds, but if you keep strict---and we mean strict---track of your menstrual cycle and your periods are pretty regular, it’s not so bad.

This brings us to the next point.

Some folks (professionals) are going to want to rain on your parade and say that it’s not a reliable form of contraception by any stretch of the imagination. We caught

an article that reported that one study said the failure rate for pulling out was almost 30 percent. That’s not what shocked us. It was that it also

said the true failure rate of condoms was (whew!) 18 percent. This is certainly something to weigh in and discuss with your physician. For now, we’ll say that knowing when

you’re ovulating (don’t guess, take a test) and avoiding that week, can significantly reduce your chances of getting pregnant this way.

There are some women who will tell you that they were on the Fort Knox of birth control and still got pregnant. So again, don’t depend on this to be your

fail safe method if you can’t imagine having a baby right now. Even with the statistics we’ve already shared, something else to think about is pre-ejaculate. Don’t believe what you heard

from your college buddies. Yes, there is sometimes sperm that shows up in it. That said, by no means are we guaranteeing pulling out will work. We’re just saying there

are reasons to consider it.

If you’re in a committed relationship, then hopefully both of you are remaining faithful. But if you’re not, you should NEVER use pulling out as a form of birth control.

It will NEVER protect you from sexually transmitted diseases (NEVER EVER). That’s something to keep in mind about oral sex too. It’s not as high as vaginal (or anal) sex,

but the risk of contracting one still exists. Read more about that here.

Spontaneous sex is so hot! Be careful trying it with the pull out method, though. It’s probably the last birth control method to try if you’re really in the mood,

have no idea where your period tracker is and you want to get a quickie in. For this reason, keep condoms close by. It’s the ying to the pull out

method’s yang. In all of the best ways possible!