Withdrawal (pull-out method)

If you want to stick with a method that doesn’t require talking to a health care provider, condoms and the over-the-counter birth control pill are more effective at preventing pregnancy than withdrawal (a.k.a., the pull-out method) and available with a prescription.

The withdrawal method (a.k.a. pulling out) dates all the way back to the Bible’s book of Genesis. Today, the best studies suggest that the majority of people in the U.S. have used the pull out method for birth control at least once in their lives.

Everyone is different, so there are no universal signals to look out for. Communicating with your partner will help. If you want to use the pull out method for birth control but your partner is unsure what their signals are, practice with a condom first, or it might be fun to mess around without penetrative sex to learn their “I’m getting close” quirks.