The results were striking: women using pills, patches, or rings "had a risk of contraceptive failure that was 20 times as high as the risk" among those using IUDs." And, much as the authors had hypothesized, women younger than 21 who chose to use a pill, patch, or ring—rather than an IUD—were twice as likely to become accidentally pregnant than older women. ... The study’s conclusion runs a single, unequivocal sentence: the effectiveness of IUDs is simply superior to other contraceptives. "If there were a drug for cancer, heart disease, or diabetes that was 20 times more effective," said [senior author Jeffrey Peipert], "we would recommend it first.