Among the most severe potential complications of an IUD are the risks of perforation, infection, and/or expulsion of the device. While these complications are purported to be rare, stories in popular media and articles in medical journals highlight that such risks with an IUD do exist. For the women who encounter those complications, the experience can be both devastating and blindsiding. In a recent article from the journal Images…
Spears’s gut-wrenching testimony starkly illustrates that when women cede control of their bodies to devices like IUDs, it paves the way for an alarming loss of bodily autonomy — all the more horrific for women who were forced to have the device implanted in the first place,
According to a new report by Spotlight for America, more than 3,000 women have reported to the FDA that the copper intrauterine device (IUD) Paragard has broken in their bodies, and nearly 2,000 of those have had serious complications as a result. According to a local ABC news report, Anna Speaks, a woman who chose the copper IUD for its…
Some women who have had intrauterine devices (IUDs) inserted, whether a hormonal IUD or a copper IUD, experience symptoms such as painful cramps, painful sex, pain in their abdomen or cervix, or unusual bleeding between periods. If you have any of these symptoms, you might be experience a misplaced or displaced IUD. According to Healthline, signs and symptoms of a…
In a study published in February 2020 in the international reproductive health journal Contraception, researchers found that many women seeking to have their intrauterine device (IUD) removed often face delays and roadblocks from their healthcare providers. The study, led by Jennifer Amico of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, employed a mystery caller process to contact 229 clinics across ten…
“We cannot rely on doctors to be upfront with women about the risks of birth control. So, it’s up to us.” This has become something of a mantra for me over the past few years. Sure, I run into the occasional woman who hears me talking about the risks and accuses me of fear mongering. But for the most part,…
When you are considering any type of birth control, you want to have all the information necessary to make an informed decision. Unfortunately, when it comes to the intrauterine device (IUD), there is a lot of conflicting information. Some women say they are nervous because they’ve heard other women’s “horror stories,” and some providers downplay those accounts because they don’t…
While some women report getting push back from their doctors when they request to have their intrauterine device (IUD) or other birth control implant removed, the right response should be to affirm the patient’s request. According to an instructional video published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), providers counseling patients who have requested a long-acting reversible contraceptive…
IUD (intrauterine device) birth control implants don’t always stay put. This may not come as a surprise, given the many lawsuits brought against the Mirena IUD for this reason. But when IUDs become misplaced, very serious risks and complications can arise. An IUD can move from its position at the top of the uterus, sometimes even perforating a woman’s uterus,…
NEWS FLASH: Hormonal birth control can cause strokes and heart attacks even if you’re young and don’t smoke! Of course, this isn’t really news. It’s more like an old story that’s been buried and forgotten. Drug companies have so successfully mitigated the facts that even doctors often get confused. The history of birth control and blood clots When hormonal birth…