Withdrawal (also called “pull out” method is when the male withdraws his penis completely from the woman’s vagina before he ejaculates (releases many sperm all at once).

Withdrawal is a risky method of contraception because it’s not easy to prevent ejaculation in the vagina- it takes a lot of practice and a great deal of self-control. Even if a male can tell when he is about to ejaculate or “cum”, the fluid that is released (from the penis) before ejaculation can contain sperm from a previous ejaculation.

Does the withdrawal method work?

If men use the withdrawal method every time they have vaginal intercourse and do it perfectly every time, it’s possible to be 96% effective in preventing pregnancy. This means that if the partners of 100 women use the withdrawal method all the time and always do it perfectly (which is almost impossible), 4 women will become pregnant in a year.

The problem with the withdrawal method is: perfect use hardly ever happens. So the withdrawal method is really only 78% effective. This means that if the partners of 100  women use the withdrawal method less than perfectly, at least 22 women will become pregnant in a year.

Withdrawal does not protect against sexually transmitted infections.