Birth Control: What Are You Using?

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the most popular form of birth control, the pill. According to statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth, 78% of sisters are using the pill.

Some of the report’s key findings include:

• More than 99% of women aged 15-44 who have ever had sex with a man have used at least one type of contraception.
• Among women having sex for the first time, condoms were the leading method of contraception.
• For women under age 30, the pill was the leading type of contraception.
• For women age 30 and older, female sterilization was the most common form of birth control.
• Only 56% of Asian women and 68% of Hispanic or Latina women have ever used the birth control pill, compared with 89% of white and 78% of black women.
• About 84% of women whose mother had a college education used some form of birth control when they first had premarital sex. Among women whose mothers did not complete high school, only 53% used a method of contraception when they first had premarital sex. Most of this difference is due to condom use (68% vs. 37%).

Besides pills and condoms, other forms of birth control include patches, rings, IUD’s, and implants. Even with all these options, the fact is still that almost half of the pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned. What gives?

Madames, are you in control? What type of contraception do you use?