Short for Intrauterine Device, IUD’s are tiny devices inserted into a woman’s uterus as birth control. I was introduced to IUD’s during my prenatal appointments and was repeatedly asked if I wanted one after we delivered our baby. Here is why I got it removed less than a year after it was implanted.
1. Something Was Off
I chose a no-hormone IUD (Paragard) because I am extremely sensitive to hormones and this IUD promised to not affect my mood. However, I could tell something was not right. My gynecologist dismissed my concerns, so I browsed a few websites and discovered many other women had similar complaints. I was reminded that anything foreign in the body (even a tiny copper device) can disrupt the body’s natural environment and cause problems.
2. Heavier Periods
Prior to the IUD, my periods lasted 3 days with one day of spotting. With the IUD, my period lasted longer, the blood was so much heavier, and I had a patchy flow.
3. Painful Cramps
Typically, I cramp very lightly for a few seconds right before I started bleeding. Once I got the IUD, the cramps were continuous and much more painful. It was no longer slight discomfort, these cramps were bend over, can’t move pain.
4. Wanted Another Child
I also removed our IUD because I wanted our daughter to have another sibling. Even if we weren’t planning to have another child, there were too many signs saying this was not natural for my body - so I would have removed it anyway.
5. Natural Family Planning
I did more research on ovulation tracking, a natural non-invasive form of family planning. This (along with being content with our family size) became our main form of birth control.
