Recommendations for Contraceptive Use
		Withdrawal (coitus interruptus)

Withdrawal

Withdrawal is a method of family planning (FP) in which the man interrupts intercourse and withdraws his penis from his partner's vagina before he ejaculates.

To use withdrawal effectively, the man must be able to predict when he is about to ejaculate and be able to pull out his penis in time so that there is no contact between his ejaculate and the woman's vagina or external genitalia where cervical secretions (mucus) may be present. Cervical secretions facilitate the transport of semen into the upper female genital tract. Incomplete withdrawal during the fertile time in a woman's cycle will greatly increase the probability of unplanned pregnancy. However, incomplete withdrawal outside the fertile time will not result in pregnancy. The man (and woman) must be highly motivated to use the withdrawal method because it requires him to pull out and move away from his partner at a time when sexual excitement is near its peak.

Citations:

1. Hatcher R, Trussell J, Stewart F, Stewart G, Kowal D, Guest F, et al. Coitus interruptus (Withdrawal). In: Contraceptive Technology. New York: Irvington, 1994: 341-6.

*To view the file, you need to download and install the free Adobe^® Acrobat^® Reader software. For the latest version of the Reader software for a variety of platforms, see the Adobe website.

Any part of Recommendations for Updating Selected Practices in Contraceptive Use may be reproduced or adapted to meet local needs without prior permission from the TG/CWG Secretariat, provided the TG/CWG is acknowledged and the material is made available free of charge or at cost.