All about IUDs

Intrauterine experiences

love my IUD, but I also hate my
IUD.

I got mine about three years
ago. After trying the pill as my first
contraceptive for about a year and
having the worst time with it, I knew
I needed to try something different.
| heard a lot about this alternative
birth control from a walk-in-clinic
doctor, and from my friend who also
had one.

Ever since getting my IUD,

I’ve never had to worry about

it. I stopped getting my period
altogether, I get very minimal to no
cramping, and often forget I have it
at all.

Until I get a nagging cramp in
my pelvic region and remember that
| have a foreign metal stick shoved
inside my uterus. Until | remember
the day I got mine put in for the first
time and how | felt like throwing
up knowing what was about to
be done to me, and how loudly I
yelled “FUCK” in the family doctor's
office during the procedure. Until
] remember my doctor telling me
it’s moved out of its usual spot and
that it will be painful and difficult to
remove when the time comes. Until
] remember in a couple years, | will
have to have it torn out of me and
then another one put back in again
on the same day. Then, | hate my
IUD.

An Intrauterine history

What exactly is an IUD though,
and how does it prevent pregnancy?
An IUD isa small t-shaped device
that is put inside a woman’s uterus.
There are two types: The copper
and the hormonal such as Mirena,
Jaydess, and Kyleena. With the
copper IUD, the copper serves as a
spermicide which prevents the egg
from fertilizing. The hormonal IUD
releases a hormone in the uterus
that makes the mucus in your cervix
thicker, making it harder for sperm
to get to the egg. They are the most

By
Jessica Berget, Editor-in-Chief &
Janis McMath, Assistant Editor

  
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 

effective birth control method
varying from 99 percent to 99.8
percent effectiveness.

People think of IUDs asa
relatively new method of birth
control, but they’ve been around
for along time. The copper IUD we
use today hit the birth control scene
back in 1962. Intrauterine devices
were seen as a safe form of birth
control until around the ‘7os, when
one guy ruined it for everyone else.

The Dalkon Shield was a device
that was on the market in the ‘7os
and ‘8os. It was so popular that at
one point, physicians prescribed it to
over two million women in the US.
However, it was poorly designed and
not well-tested. After several years,
over 200,000 women claimed that
the device had given them serious
medical conditions such as pelvic
inflammatory disease, miscarriage,
and loss of fertility. On top of
that, there were 18 reported
deaths caused by the shield.
Because of this, popularity
of intrauterine devices
decreased, and fora while,
people opted for oral
contraceptives instead.

1UD’s are now an
increasingly popular
form of birth control.
According to an
article by the Star,
prescriptions for the
hormonal IUDs have
“increased 46 percent
from 116,478 in 201 to
170,061 in 2015.” | think
it’s safe to say almost
five years later that
those numbers have
steadily increased.

The switch to this
contraceptive may

be because of its low
maintenance and high
effectiveness rating at 99
percent.