How Trusted Is the Pill?

If you use it perfectly, the pill is 99% effective. But people aren't perfect and it's easy to forget or miss pills — so in reality the pill is about 91% effective. That means about 9 out of 100 pill users get pregnant each year.

Is the pill always safe?

Birth control pills are safe for most women. The pill has been available for 60 years, so there is a lot of comfort and experience with its use. A small percentage of women who take the combination (estrogen-containing) birth control pill have an increased risk for developing these rare complications: Blood clots.

How likely is it for the pill to fail?

Both combined oral contraceptives and progestin-only pills (also known as the mini pill) have a typical failure rate of 9 percent. Many women accidentally miss a dose or forget to start a new pack of pills. When that happens, the chances for an accidental pregnancy go up.