All, or almost all, people have sex. But, like many other entertainment, it carries its share of risk. An unwanted pregnancy or getting unpleasant illnesses are the most obvious dangers of sex . However, there are hidden issues such as the risk of a heart attack, injury if the bed breaks, and even the likelihood of being arrested at the scene of a crime in a public place.
The likelihood of an unplanned pregnancy
Thus, what appears to be a simple act (to some, at least) actually takes on a much more complex structure. This means that by studying the statistics, you can find out some pretty interesting numbers associated with risky things happening in the bedroom.
The most common danger of sex is unprotected intercourse between a man and a woman. What is the likelihood that it will end in pregnancy? For obvious reasons, this issue is rather difficult to study in a laboratory setting. One study in New Zealand suggested that participants have sex only once a month, which caused people difficulty and high dropout rates.
Perhaps the most accurate and reliable figure can be considered the result obtained by European researchers who studied 782 young couples who did not use artificial contraception. Couples were asked to mark the days of each intercourse until the number of pregnancies reached 487. The simplest way to assess the likelihood of pregnancy was to consider only those cycles in which intercourse was performed only once. The peak time that maximizes the likelihood of pregnancy was a couple of days before ovulation – the chances of getting pregnant during this time were about 25%, which confirms previous estimates. For the rest of the cycle, the odds plummeted to an average of 5%. The essence of the study is that intercourse between a young couple gives the chance of pregnancy on average one in twenty.
However, what some consider as a danger of sex , others consider a desirable event. So what are the chances of success for the average couple trying to have a child? Of course, this figure fluctuates depending on the individual characteristics of the couple, but the approximate average in high-income countries is around 15-30%. Assuming this low, it can be calculated that every average couple looking to have a baby has an 85% chance of failing each month. If we assume that all months are the same and do not depend on each other, then the probability of not getting pregnant per year will be 0.85×0.85 (and so on 12 times), which is approximately 14%. In other words, the probability of a successful outcome is 86%.
Contraceptive effectiveness
But suppose the couple still doesn’t want to get pregnant. How effective will different types of contraception be? Typically, this can be measured by the pregnancy rate after one year of contraceptive use, although the figure will largely depend on the carefulness of contraceptive use. Products such as birth control pills, IUDs, implants, and injections are 99% effective, so fewer than 1 in 100 users will be pregnant within a year. Male condoms are considered 98% effective when used correctly. Spermicide diaphragms and caps are said to provide 92-96% efficacy.
Heart attack risk
According to statistics, there is such a danger of sex as heart attacks. Last year, researchers estimated that 1 in 45 heart attacks was caused by sexual activity. They say such famous people as Nelson Rockefeller, French President Felix Faure and at least two Popes have suffered from them.
So, when having sex, do not forget about the risks, after all, health should sometimes be more important than pleasure.