Uptake of contraceptives in Nigeria is low despite the several interventions and efforts on family planning in the
country. Contraceptive failure among other factors may be responsible for this occurrence as women reason “why use it if it
doesn’t work”. This paper investigates claims of contraceptive failure among women aged 15 to 49 years in Nigeria using
data obtained from the 2007 National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey. A total of 5360 women were interviewed
in the study. Using the Chi Square test of association and the logistic regression, variables such as level of education, place of
residence, geopolitical zones and exposure to mass media intervention on family planning were explored. Findings showed
that more than 86% have ever been pregnant and about 10% had become pregnant while using contraceptive (P = 0.0992, CI
=0.0888, 0.1096). Report of contraceptive failure was highest among women aged 25 years and above (85%), while self
employed group were more affected than women in other occupational groups. Also, women from rural areas reported more
cases of contraceptive failure than their urban counterpart (54.1% to 45.9%). Daily oral pills accounted for about 21.5% of all
reported contraceptive failures while condoms and Injectables accounted for 19.6% and 13.9% respectively. Women with
secondary and higher levels of education are 1.7 times more likely to experience contraceptive failure than women of lower
educational level. Significant spatial pattern was observed at the level of geopolitical zones. Intervention on client adherence
to pills and introducing Cyclebeads to women who prefer traditional methods may be explored.