References
All statistics used in the Stress Test come from well-established sources such as the Office for National Statistics and the National Health Service, or other institutions and academic studies.
'What is to me the most mind-boggling statistic is that half (48%) of women aged 15-44 in the US have had an unintended pregnancy. So when you walk down the street in New York, half of the women you see will have had an unintended pregnancy.'10
Professor James Trussell, Professor of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and past director of the Office of Population Research.
Statistics used in the Stress Test Quiz:
45% of pregnancies are unintended.1
33% of births are as a result of an unintended pregnancy.2
34% of women will have an abortion in their lifetime.3
2% of abortions are due to medical reasons such as foetal abnormality.4
Human Error is the most common cause of contraceptive failure.5
The contraceptive pill is 91% effective. If one hundred women use the pill as their contraceptive method for one year, 9 will become pregnant.6
Condoms are 82% effective. If one hundred couples use condoms as their contraceptive method for one year, 18 will become pregnant.7
30% of couples undergoing IVF succeed in giving birth.8 9
References
1 Wellings K et al., 2013. The prevalence of unplanned pregnancy and associated factors in Britain: findings from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. London: Department of Public Health. The Lancet 2013; 382 (9907): 1807-1816. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62071-1. [45.2% of all pregnancies are either unplanned or ambivalent as defined by the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy].
2 Wellings K et al., 2013. The prevalence of unplanned pregnancy and associated factors in Britain: findings from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. London: Department of Public Health. The Lancet 2013; 382 (9907): 1807-1816. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62071-1. [32.9% of all births are unplanned or ambivalent as defined by the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy].
3 NHS Choices, 2020. Abortion. [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abortion/ [Accessed 9 March 2020]. [One in three women will have an abortion in their lifetime.] see also: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2011. The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion. Evidence-based Clinical Guideline Number 7. London: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, p.45: 5.6. [“One in three women will have an abortion in their lifetime”].
4 Office for National Statistics, 2019. Abortion Statistics, England and Wales 2019. London: Office for National Statistics. P10. [In 2019, There were 3,183 abortions on grounds of disability (2%.)]
5 Toler.S. 2019. Why does hormonal birth control fail? Berlin. Clue,com https://helloclue.com/articles/sex/why-does-hormonal-birth-control-fail “If birth control is so effective, why do we hear so many stories about people becoming pregnant while using it? Generally, it’s because as humans, we are more flawed than the medical technology of birth control.“ See also: Krause EL. “They just happened”: the curious case of the unplanned baby, Italian low fertility, and the “end” of rationality. Med Anthropol Q. 2012;26:361–382. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23259348/ [accessed 5 June 2021].
6 NHS Choices, 2020. How effective is contraception at preventing pregnancy? [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/how-effective-contraception/Combined contraceptive pill: Perfect use: more than 99% effective. Fewer than 1 in 100 women will get pregnant in a year when using the combined pill correctly. Typical use: around 91% effective. Around 9 in 100 women using the combined pill will get pregnant in a year. [Accessed 5 June 2021].
7 NHS Choices, 2020. How effective is contraception at preventing pregnancy? [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/contraception/how-effective-contraception/ Perfect use: 98% effective. This means that 2 in 100 women whose partners use a condom will get pregnant in a year. Typical use: around 82% effective. This means around 18 in 100 women will get pregnant in a year. [Accessed 5 June 2021].
8 Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, 2017. Fertility Treatment in 2017, Trends and Figures. London: Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. P21. [The overall birth rate Per Embryo Transferred (PET) was 22% in 2017.]
9 NHS Choices, 2020. IVF: Chances of Success [online] Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/IVF/ [Accessed 8 March 2020]. [Between 2014 and 2016 the percentage of IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was: 29% for women under 35, 23% for women aged 35 to 37, 15% for women aged 38 to 39, 9% for women aged 40 to 42, 3% for women aged 43 to 44, 2% for women aged over 44].
10 Trussell, J., 2008. Why Contraception Fails. In: BPAS, Abortion Review Special Edition 2, Winter 2008-09. London: BPAS. P16.