How do I decide if an
IUD is right for me?
EXPERTS SAY What women want most
in a method are effectiveness, safety and
few side effects, says Dr MacIsaac. An
IUD pretty much knocks it out of the
park on all three fronts. It requires zero
upkeep – once it’s in, it’s in. And you
won’t have to worry about risks from
oestrogen, because the hormone in
Mirena is a type of progestin. On the
other hand, an IUD might not be for
you if you like the reassurance of taking
a daily pill, you want to experience
your period more “naturally”, or you’re
freaked out about harbouring a tiny
foreign object in your uterus. It might
not be worth it if you think you want
to get pregnant within the next six
months, Dominguez says. Plus, it does
require at least one office visit, and the
insertion isn’t exactly a spa day.
WOMEN SAY Most IUD users say it’s
their favourite birth control, a Cosmo
and bedsider.org survey found. “I was
on the Pill and had been single for a
while, so I kept forgetting to take it,”
says Amanda, 22. “Now I have 10 years
of free birth control that I don’t have
to remember to take.”MIRENA
HOW IT WORKS
Every day, the device releases a small amount of
a hormone that creates a thick plug of mucus at
the cervix to prevent sperm from swimming by.
The hormone also thins the lining of the uterus
to make it an unfavourable place for an embryo.
WORTH NOTING The US Food and Drug Administration
okayed it based on research on mums. Your doctor
should be happy to give it to you if you haven’t had
a baby, but it’s an off-label use.HOW IT WORKS
A wire wound around the T-shaped devices releases
copper ions inside the uterus that kill sperm or make
them bad swimmers. The ions also make it hard for
an embryo to implant in the uterine wall on the tiny
off chance that an egg does get fertilised.
WORTH NOTING Contains zero hormones.One reason IUDs still haven’t soared
in popularity? A confusing myth that
IUDs can end a pregnancyIUDS PREVENT PREGNANCY,
mostly by thwarting
fertilisation – researchers
rarely find a sperm fertilising
an egg in IUD users. But just
in case, IUDs are designed to
also prevent implantation.
Some religious groups
consider this abortion, but it
doesn’t meet the medical
definition of the term.Nevertheless, Dominguez says,
“Patients Google IUD and see
scary stories, many of which
have been planted by people
who have an axe to grind about
contraception.” Rather than
Googling, you’re much better
off relying on your doctor’s
advice or credible research-
backed websites such as
fpnsw.org.au.Lasts for
5 yearsLasts for
5 or 10
yearsCOPPER
IUD
IMPLANTATION fertilised
egg meets uterusFERTILISATION
WHY DO sperm meets eggPEOPLE THINK
IUDS ARE
ABORTION?
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