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Women can prevent an unplanned pregnancy in many ways, and the intrauterine device, or IUD, is one of the most popular. In this blog, we review six of the benefits that an IUD can offer women.
Your reasons are your own, but having a child just isn’t part of your plans at the moment. You do, however, want to explore your birth control choices. The good news is that you certainly won’t find a lack of family planning options to be an obstacle. In fact, many women find that the sheer number of options to be the obstacle.
Of the more than 72 million women of childbearing age in the United States, nearly 65% use some sort of contraception. And what we call long-acting reversible contraceptives, such as the IUD, are among the most popular at about 10%.
To help in your decision-making, the team here at Bay Area Physicians for Women’s Health wants to take a deeper dive into IUDs, which many of our patients find to be an ideal form of contraception.
So, let’s take a look at what our patients appreciate about the IUD.
1. IUDs — a low hassle option
An IUD is a small T-shaped device that we insert into your uterus during a quick in-office procedure. Once the IUD is in position, there’s nothing more you need to do — the device works behind the scenes to prevent pregnancy for years.
2. Different types of IUDs
IUDs come in two forms — hormonal or copper. With the hormonal type, the IUD slowly releases progestin, which thickens the mucus around your cervix to stop sperm from getting through. This hormonal version can also disrupt ovulation.
If you’d prefer not to use hormonal birth control, there’s a copper IUD option. The device is wrapped in a thin wire of copper that repels sperm.
3. IUDs excel at preventing pregnancy
No matter the type, IUDs offer 99% protection against pregnancy.
4. IUDs are long-lasting
We already mentioned that IUDs protect you against pregnancy for years, but let’s get more specific. There are five different brands of IUDs, and here we break out their lengths of protection:
- Paragard® — 12 years
- Mirena® — 8 years
- Kyleena® — 5 years
- Liletta® — 8 years
- Skyla® — 3 years
Paragard is the copper IUD while the other four are hormonal options.
5. IUDs are easy to reverse
Whenever you decide to reverse the birth control so that you can get pregnant, all you need to do is pay us a quick visit. During this visit, we simply remove the device in minutes, at which point your fertility is restored.
6. IUDs can also work as emergency contraception
If you’ve had unprotected sex and you’re concerned about pregnancy, we can insert an IUD up to five days afterward, and it’s 99% effective in preventing conception.
As you can see, there are some compelling benefits that make the IUD an ideal choice for millions of women.
To figure out whether the IUD is right for you or to explore all of the options in contraception, we invite you to contact our office in Mobile, Alabama, to schedule an appointment.