How does the “withdrawal” method work to avoid getting pregnant?

What is the “withdrawal” method when making love?

Withdrawal, also known as coitus interruptus, is an alternative method of contraception which consists, for the man, of withdrawing from his partner’s vagina before ejaculating. This allowsprevent sperm from entering the vagina. However, this technique should not be used for contraceptive purposes because its effectiveness remains relative. Moreover, it does not protect against sexually transmitted infections (IST).

What advantages?

The withdrawal method has many advantages:

• She is freealways available and is within everyone’s reach, with a little training;
• She is natural : this technique is free of hormones, which helps avoid possible side effects;
• She is easy to implement and does not require any particular preparation during the sexual act;
• It is useful for couples who wish to avoid restarting contraception while waiting for the arrival of a new child. The withdrawal technique makes it possible to delay its arrival, without being protected from an accident which would turn out to be “fortunate”.

What contraceptive effectiveness?

The withdrawal method is obviously not the ideal contraceptive method with the best possible effectiveness. “In reality, everything depends on the man’s ability to manage his ejaculation. However, even with training, we always have doubts about the small drops of pre-seminal fluid which would manage to rise into the cervix before ejaculation, even if it seems unlikely that this would be dangerous insofar as millions of spermatozoa are needed to achieve a pregnancy. This risk is therefore very theoretical but not zero, especially during the period of ovulation., argues Dr Odile Bagot. The withdrawal technique should therefore not be used as a method of contraception in its own right, except for couples who are not against a surprise pregnancy. Moreover, there have been cases of pregnancies with anteportas ejaculation (in front of the door). “When the woman is in full ovulation and she has very heavy mucus, if the ejaculate is located at the level of the vulva, the sperm can rise through the mucus. Ejaculation at this level should therefore be avoided. It is better to use a condom when you don’t want to use anything else, because young men who have little experience are less able to hold back ejaculation. The withdrawal method should be banned in premature ejaculators“, continues the gynecologist.

What percentage of women got pregnant using this method?

Although withdrawal is recognized as a method of contraception by the WHO, it is considered one of the least effective. Every year, 20% of women using this method become pregnant. According to Question Sexualité, a portal dedicated to French sexuality, the failure rate of this method is 4% when it is used in optimal conditions and 22% when the man does not withdraw in time. .

Thanks to Dr Odile Bagot, gynecologist, author of My gynecological survival guide (Ed. Marabout)