The perfect use failure rate is based on a review of pregnancy rates in clinical trials, and the typical use failure rate is based on a weighted average of estimates from the 1995 and 2002 U.S. National Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG), corrected for underreporting of abortions.Several factors account for typical use effectiveness being lower than perfect use effectiveness:

Mistakes on part of those providing instructions on how to use the method
Mistakes on part of the user
Conscious user non-compliance with instructionsFor instance, someone using COCPs might have received incorrect information by a health care provider about medication frequency, forgotten to take the pill one day or not gone to the pharmacy in time to renew her COCP prescription. COCPs provide effective contraception from the very first pill if started within five days of the beginning of the menstrual cycle (within five days of the first day of menstruation). If started at any other time in the menstrual cycle, COCPs provide effective contraception only after 7 consecutive days of use of active pills, so a backup method of contraception (e.g. condoms) must be used in the interim.The effectiveness of COCPs appears to be similar whether the active pills are taken continuously or if they are taken cyclically. Contraceptive efficacy, however, could be impaired by numerous means.
The majority of women on cyclic COCPs have regularly scheduled withdrawal bleeding, which is vaginal bleeding mimicking users menstrual cycles with the exception of lighter menstrual bleeding compared to bleeding patterns prior to COCP commencement. As such, a recent study reported that out of 1003 women taking COCPs approximately 90% reported regularly scheduled withdrawal bleeds over a 90-day standard reference period. Withdrawal bleeding usually occurs during the placebo, hormone-free days. Therefore, avoiding placebo days can diminish withdrawal bleeding among other placebo effects. Effectiveness
If used exactly as instructed, the estimated risk of getting pregnant is 0.3% which means that about 3 in 1000 women on COCPs will become pregnant within one year. However, typical use of COCPs by users often consists of timing errors, forgotten pills, or unwanted side effects. With typical use, the estimated risk of getting pregnant is about 9% which means that about 9 in 100 women on COCPs will become pregnant in one year.