This question is from a Group Therapy post in our community. Add your advice in the comments!
I am considering switching to an IUD after years of being on the pill. I am only considering a hormonal method (Mirena), and not the copper IUD. Does anybody have any experience, good or bad, with this form of birth control that they can share?
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The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and the New York City Department of Education have something in common. Both groups believe teen girls should have increased access to effective contraception. Last week, the ACOG released a paper that recommended IUDs as first-line birth control for teen girls. It noted that 80 percent of teen pregnancy is unintended, and that teens are likely to use the pill or condoms incorrectly.
Similar thinking apparently motivated the New York City Department of Education to offer the morning-after pill, aka Plan B, to students at 13 schools. The pilot program includes schools with little access to nearby health services and those where students have a higher risk of pregnancy. Each year, 7,000 girls under 17 get pregnant in NYC, and 64 percent of those pregnancies are aborted. The program allows school nurse offices to dispense emergency contraception to students as young as 14 without parental consent. Parents were given the chance to opt out their children from various services upfront, including the morning-after pill, the birth control pill, condoms, or pregnancy tests, yet only one to two percent of parents have done so thus far. Officials argue that requiring specific parental consent would make the service pointless.
Both IUDs and the morning-after pill address only one negative consequence of unprotected sex: unplanned pregnancy. American teens must still consider STDs. But if more schools and doctors start helping sexually active girls be proactive against pregnancy, it could help empower the girls to also act responsibly when it comes to protecting against sexually transmitted infections. Do you support giving teens access to longer-acting contraception, like IUDs, and emergency methods like the morning-after pill?
Whether you use a traditional copper IUD or the plastic version that releases the hormone progestin, a recent international study shows that both types of intrauterine devices (IUDs) may lower a woman's risk of cervical cancer. The data was collected from 10 previously published studies comparing women with cervical cancer to women without the disease, as well as data from 16 HPV frequency surveys conducted in 14 countries.
IUD use is already associated with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer, but research discovered that women who used this T-shaped device for at least a year had almost half the risk of developing cervical cancer as women who had never used one. This includes the two major types of cervical cancer known as squamous cell and adenosquamous carcinoma, which is caused by infection from the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV).
Researchers aren't exactly sure how this little matchstick-sized IUD may help prevent cervical cancer. Since it hangs inside your uterus, the constant low-grade inflammation near the cervix may encourage the immune system to fight HPV, preventing the virus from duplicating.
This news is great for women already using an IUD or those considering it for pregnancy prevention, but IUDs aren't the best method for preventing cervical cancer. Using condoms and getting vaccinated to protect yourself from the HPV virus as well as scheduling regular Pap tests with your gynecologist are top on the list when it comes to cervical cancer prevention.
Are you overdue for a Pap smear? If so, here's your friendly reminder to make an appointment!
DrSugar is in the house! This week she explains the pros and cons of using IUDs for birth control.
To continue our ongoing series of gynecological topics, I have decided to write about intrauterine devices (IUDs) as a form of birth control. Even though I learned about IUDs through many outlets (sex ed in school, medical school), I decided to research them more thoroughly since the birth control pills I started taking after having my baby negatively affected my milk supply. I had to find an alternate mode of contraception so I could continue to have an abundant milk supply for my little one. I had a Paragard (copper) IUD inserted a couple of weeks ago and I'll share my experience as well as more information about two types of IUDs in today's column! Keep reading for more info.
IUDs (intrauterine devices) are the forgotten form of birth control in America. Yet in other developed countries, the tiny, T-shaped device, which gets implanted in the uterus, is one of the most popular methods of birth control. What happened? One heavily marketed brand gave IUDs a bad rap in the '70s, and American marketers and doctors have shied away from it since. In fact, many doctors go through medical school without ever learning how to insert one. No wonder they don't recommend it!
This week a Slate article called it the "best birth control," so maybe it's time to see what we know — and don't — about this sperm-stopping piece of plastic.
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Assuming you aren't ready to have kids, you're most likely using some sort of birth control. But since condoms are only 85 percent effective, and IUCs and the pill are 99 percent effective, there is that small chance you could still get pregnant. So with that said, waiting for your period to come can be a nerve-wracking event. And even though getting your period and suffering through everything that comes with it isn't fun, when I'm sexually active, I'm almost elated when it comes! Are you ladies with me in this one? Do you get that relieved, excited feeling when your monthly friend comes even though you're using protection?
A little while back, I told you about IUCs, which are a kind of long-term birth control that are becoming really popular since many women don't want to have to remember to take their pill every day or interrupt lovemaking to slip on a condom. IUCs allow for spontaneous intimacy and are over 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy. There's a lot more to know, so let's see what you remember!
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So yesterday I told you about one type of IUC, called Paragard, which is made of plastic and copper. Well Mirena is another type, also made out of plastic, but this one contains hormones, just like the Pill.
If you're interested in using birth control that you don't have to think about, Mirena may be right for you, but check out the pros and cons before you make any decisions.
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Want to see the rest? Then read more
If you're looking for a new method of birth control, have you ever thought about an IUC, or intrauterine contraceptive (previously called an IUD)?
There are two brands of IUCs available in the US: ParaGard and Mirena, but let's discuss ParaGard first. It's made out of plastic but has copper wire wrapped around it. That copper is toxic to sperm and once inserted, it makes the uterus and fallopian tubes produce fluid, which kills the sperm. But just like all kinds of birth control, there are good and bad things about using ParaGard. Want to know what they are? Then read more
