One doctor’s fight to make IUD placement better
A new study shows promising results in lowering pain during IUD placements
IUD placement can be painful for some individuals. A recent study by Helena Kopp Kallner, a professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and senior consultant in obstetrics and gynecology at the Danderyd Hospital, shows promising results in reducing pain during IUD insertions. IUDs are highly effective forms of birth control, being over 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy for years. They are also over 99 percent effective as emergency contraception when inserted within five days of unprotected sex.
While IUDs are set-and-forget solutions, requiring only a doctor's visit for placement and eventual removal, the placement process can be uncomfortable. The CDC recommends counseling patients on pain medication options, but data on effective treatments is limited. Options include local anesthetic creams, injections directly to the cervix, conscious sedation, or full anesthesia, but there is no clear consensus on which intervention to use or how effective they are.
Kallner published a study on a new method for mitigating potential pain during IUD insertion. The study's idea came from Kallner herself, who felt the need to find a simple solution after experiencing pain while fitting IUDs for young women in her clinic. The study involved injecting local anesthetic through a thin catheter into the cervix during insertion, using a higher concentration than in previous trials.
This new method showed near-significant results, indicating its potential effectiveness in reducing pain during IUD placement.
Written by urgent.news from Scientific American's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
