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We’ve talked a lot in our previous blogs about the birth control pill, and for good reason - there’s certainly lots to talk about! However, there is an almost equally popular form of contraception - the IUD - that you may be wondering about.
What is an IUD?
IUD stands for “intrauterine device”. It’s a small T shaped device that’s placed by a doctor in a woman’s cervix. The cervix is the opening from the vagina into the uterus. The device is made to stay in the cervix for up to a few years, preventing pregnancy. There are two types of IUD: hormonal and copper.
How common are IUDs?
According to the CDC, about 10% of women of reproductive age (15-49) use an IUD.
How does an IUD work?
One thing that may surprise you is that the majority of women continue to ovulate (release a mature egg from the ovaries) while they have an IUD in place.
Both types of IUDs work by making it more difficult for an egg and sperm to find each other, dramatically decreasing the likelihood of conception occurring. However, conception can still occur and if it does, the IUD prevents pregnancy by altering the lining of the uterus so that if conception occurs, implantation of the embryo cannot occur. The mechanism that they use to accomplish this task depends on the type of IUD you have in place.
A hormonal IUD uses a continuous release of progesterone. In a normal, healthy cycle for a woman she has a variety of hormones that rise and fall cyclically, affecting not only her fertility but every function in her body. Similarly to the birth control pill, the IUD overrides this intricate system by providing a continuous release of one hormone (progesterone).
A copper IUD works by a continuous release of copper ions that cause inflammation in a woman’s reproductive tract. This creates a toxic environment for sperm and egg and inflames the lining of the uterus to prevent implantation of any pregnancies that occur.
What should I be concerned about?
Unknown number of disrupted pregnancies
From a moral and ethical perspective, it’s very important for women to understand that much of the time an IUD is “preventing pregnancy” by disrupting implantation of a pregnancy that has already occurred. It's misleading to advertise the IUD as being so effective at preventing pregnancy when the reality is that once an egg and sperm have united, a genetically unique, totally unrepeatable human life with an immortal soul has already been created. Preventing implantation of that pregnancy is not the same as preventing pregnancy.
Inflammation and hormone disruption
As more and more women are becoming aware of the benefits of having healthy,
balanced hormones and low inflammation throughout their bodies, it's wild to think that such a popular form of contraception works by creating hormone imbalance and toxic inflammation. We can and must do better for women! Women deserve to achieve their family planning dreams while being able to enjoy good health.
Side effects and risks.
IUD expulsion (it comes out)
Bleeding (may be heavy, may be light, may be constant)
Cramping (may be constant, may get less over time)
Uterine perforation (the device pokes a hole in your uterus - not very common but very serious)
Copper toxicity (this is anecdotally being reporting more and more although, doctors are saying “more information is needed”)
Copper IUDs increase the risk for other reproductive infections and inflammatory conditions which makes sense because they are creating a baseline level of inflammation
Hormonal IUDs come with a risk of hormonal side effects (headaches, acne, breast tenderness, mood changes, ovarian cysts, etc).
It's frustrating that the IUD is marketed to women as a simple, long term fix for preventing pregnancy. It is far from side effect free, has serious risks to a woman's health and has deep moral implications which are rarely, if ever, discussed. For any woman I've consulted with that has experienced having an IUD, her side effects are very much downplayed by her medical team as just being "part of having an IUD".
I'm telling you: you deserve better.
You don't have to deal with side effects ranging from pesky to burdensome to downright dangerous. You can understand your fertility and work with your body in the way it was designed to work to achieve your goals with
good health, high effectiveness and no side effects.
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