A national survey has found that increasing numbers of women in the United States are using intrauterine devices (IUDs) as their reversible birth control method, Reuters reports.
Researchers found that 8.5 percent of U.S. women using birth control in 2009 chose an IUD or contraceptive implant, compared to just under four percent in 2007.
Reproductive health experts say that IUDs are the most effective method of birth control. But some health care providers still harbor reservations about the IUDs.
When IUDs first came out, there were concerns that they may raise the risk of pelvic infection and jeopardize women’s future fertility. Original IUD labeling said the devices were contraindicated for women who’d never had children, and subsequent models have been redesigned to reduce the risk of pelvic infection.
More recently, plaintiffs have sued Bayer over its Mirena IUD, claiming that the company overstated the device’s benefits in its advertising while failing to properly warn about some dangerous side effects.
Those side effects include the possibility that the device will embed itself in the uterine wall and move from its implantation site, causing organ perforation or scarring or requiring surgery to remove it.
The story says up-front cost may be another factor, although experts say IUDs are less expensive in the long run than other methods of reversible birth control because they last for years.
Popular IUDs run from $500 to $800, not including the doctor’s charges for putting them in. Birth control pills, on the other hand, cost anywhere from about $10 to $50 per month.
Patients should consult their doctors before making any changes in their medication. A consultation with a Mirena lawyer is also important if surgery was required from Mirena.
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