Roderick Chen/GettySexual Health + Identity

Why This Popular Birth Control Method Is Actually a Really Bad Idea

Do not try this at home.

School sex-educators, doctors, and health practitioners don’t advocate the “pullout method,” or withdrawal as a form of reliable birth control, but that doesn’t stop couples from relying on it. In fact, according to new data from fertility app, Glow, 18% of the app’s users use withdrawal as their primary birth control method, third only behind condoms (32%) and the pill (27%) — and well ahead of the IUD (5%). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 60% of women have used the pullout method at some point in their lives — but that doesn't mean you should, and here's why.

Even though many of us have been taught to use condoms or other forms of reliable birth control, the pullout method still remains prevalent. In order to find out why, Glow surveyed more than 94,000 public respondents to get an answer, and found that 39% think it feels better, and 32% think it's just convenient. There's nothing convenient about an unwanted pregnancy. Now, let's talk about the feasibility of this action.

In order to prevent pregnancies using the pullout method, the person supplying the sperm has to be very accurate. Both in terms of knowing when they're going to ejaculate, and then having the ability to pull out before they actually ejaculate. If you've ever seen a teenage or college boy do anything with 100% accuracy, good for you, but most of them are just figuring out their bodies, like you, and don't need to test out their skills in your vagina.

Don't listen to the studies that say the pullout method is almost as effective as a condom. That's only true if the person pulling out is as accurate as a condom, and a young boy is not that. The condom industry exists for a reason, take advantage of it. Condoms are a proven, inexpensive, and universally accepted method at preventing pregnancies and STDs.

To be fair, you're also probably not that good at accuracy, and the other half of this technique is tracking your cycle to know when you're most fertile. As Glow notes, you not only have to rely on your other half's self-control and ability to pull out “at exactly the right moment every. single. time,” but you also have to be able to avoid your most fertile times. This is something, according to Glow, most women don’t do, and when they do, a third are more than six days off when estimating the length of their cycles, and half are more than four days off.

Bottom line — unless you're OK with potentially getting pregnant, the pullout method is not really a method, but rather an excuse not to practice safe sex. There’s a wealth of reliable birth control and STI-prevention methods out there; if you're sexually active, find one that’s right for you and use it — consistently.

Related: 10 Things You Should Know Before Your First Gynecologist Appointment

Check out Teen Vogue’s February issue cover star, Amandla Stenberg.

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