Is natural family planning a highly effective method of birth control? No: natural family planning methods are overrated

With typical use, up to 25 percent of women using NFP will become pregnant within the first year,1 which is higher than the rate of pregnancy for typical users of condoms (18 percent).4 As an example of the difference between perfect and typical use, withdrawal has an unintended pregnancy rate of 4 percent with perfect use, but a 22 percent rate with typical use.5 Although this is far lower than the pregnancy rate when no contraceptive method is used (85 percent), it is hard to argue that withdrawal is effective in comparison with most non-NFP options. [...]this method is limited to women who are exclusively breastfeeding, are less than six months postpartum, and have amenorrhea.6 The consequences of unintended pregnancy on a person's health and well-being are important considerations for contraceptive counseling. Because contraceptive technology has advanced to the point that many safe, affordable, readily accessible, and highly effective options are available for persons with a variety of needs and comorbidities, NFP should be considered only as a second-line choice when more effective methods are not acceptable.