what is IUD and why it’s is used? Keep in mind in India women have no idea what tampons are, let alone IUD. Sanitary pad is the only option here
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An IUD is a form of birth control. It’s a small device inserted into the uterus that prevents pregnancy, and depending on your choice of IUD it can also limit or prevent periods.
It’s a little device inserted into the cervix and placed in the uterus. It stands for Intra-uterine device.
There are copper kinds and hormonal kinds. Sperm don’t like copper, so they can’t swim by the IUD. Hormonal kinds thicken the cervical mucus and trap sperm so they can’t swim any further. Hormonal kinds also sometimes stop ovulation all together, so even if sperm managed to swim by, there is no egg waiting for them.
It’s used because some women find it preferable to contraceptive pills, or condoms, or other types of birth control. It’s inserted once, and you can generally forget about it until you need to get it replaced. Overall they are very reliable.
An IUD is a device that is inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. There are two types: hormonal and copper.
The hormonal type is made with hormones that are released to prevent pregnancy, similar to the hormones used in a birth control pill.
The copper type is wrapped in copper. Sperm don’t like copper.
Both types last for years and can be removed if a woman wants to get pregnant.
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/iud
It is a small t-shaped piece of hormone-infused plastic, or of copper metal, that is placed right inside the cervix. The physical presence of the item makes the uterus less hospitable to hosting a developing egg, and the hormonal ones also help prevent implantation of an egg in some women as well.
It is more often used for birth control than for stopping periods, but for some women (like me) the hormonal type also cause the monthly cycle to stop. Many women will have the opposite result and have heavier periods, and for some it does not impact monthly bleeding at all.
It’s a device that is semi permanent that tricks your body into thinking it is pregnant. It may or may not use hormones. It is inserted into the birth canal just outside the reach of your partners fingers or penis.
IUD stands for **I**ntra**U**terine **D**evice. As the name suggests, the IUD goes inside the uterus, [like so](https://www.childrenscolorado.org/48ff6a/globalassets/departments/gynecology/iud-insertion.jpg). The IUD is a form of *contraceptive*, which means it prevents pregnancy. It does this in a few different ways, depending on what kind of IUD it is.
The first thing that all IUDs do is physically block sperm from coming into contact with the egg. The pathway from vagina to the egg is torturous at best, and most sperm will never even get close to the egg. By physically changing the route sperm have to take, it significantly decreases the odds of any sperm getting there.
Side note, in case OP or someone else wandering in had a shitty sex ed and doesn’t know how that works in the first place: sperm is *not* deposited directly into the uterus. Even a well-endowed guy probably does not have enough length to make it that far. Even if he did, the vagina is separated from the uterus by the *cervix*, which remains closed unless she is ovulating. Even if she *is* ovulating, the cervix only opens up a *tiny* amount. The thinnest of penises is still far too large to get through the cervix. And it is *very* painful to even bump against the cervix, much less wedge it open. Women (in general) do not appreciate that feeling. Sperm is ejaculated into the vagina where it mixes with mucus and fluids and is drawn through the cervix into the uterus. Depending on the stage of ovulation, the sperm probably continues into the fallopian tubes where it will meet the egg. The egg starts the very early stages of development still traveling to the uterus, where it will implant into the uterine wall. Sometimes the egg doesn’t travel far enough and the egg implants into the wall of the fallopian tube. This is an ectopic pregnancy and is a life-threatening emergency. If the sperm doesn’t fertilize the egg until the egg is already in the uterus, it’s likely that the egg won’t develop enough in time to implant into the uterus and will be passed just like a period.
Anyway, back to IUDs. You can see in the diagram that the positioning of the IUD really gets in the way of the movement of sperm into the fallopian tubes, and really gets in the way of moving through the uterus at all. So, that’s one way the IUDs help prevent pregnancy. IUDs can have a copper winding or be doped with hormones, too.
The hormones are fairly straightforward if you know how normal birth control hormone work. The normal pill alters the hormones that signal pregnancy in your body, tricking your body into believing it’s already pregnant. As a result, it thickens the uterine wall and mucus lining, preventing the implantation of a “second” egg and closing the cervix to stop a “second” egg from getting fertilized. Some hormones also stop the ovaries from releasing an egg *at all* since your body thinks it’s pregnant and doesn’t need to. Different types of birth control pills (and IUDs) use a different cocktail of artificial hormones to create the best effect for the individual woman using them. As a side effect, these hormones can also reduce the severity of symptoms associated with Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), like making cramps less painful, reducing period flow, etc. Many women seek hormonal birth control just to control these symptoms completely regardless of their ability to prevent pregnancy.
Copper IUDs are also pretty straightforward – copper is toxic to sperm. The amount of copper released from the IUD is minuscule and won’t absorb into the body, making it harmless to the woman using it. That tiny amount of copper mixes with the mucus inside the uterus, though, which kills sperm that comes into contact with it. So, not only are the sperm slowed in their journey to get to the egg, they are being poisoned the whole time and likely will not survive long enough to make it to the egg, if they ever could at all.
As with all contraceptives, nothing is 100%. IUDs are about 99% effective when used correctly. One of the main benefits of IUDs is that they last for a *long* time, especially the copper version. Although the hormonal versions do need to be replaced periodically, many women find it a lot more convenient than having to take a pill every single day. Missing a pill, or even waiting too long beyond your normal time in that day, can drastically reduce their efficacy. IUDs just do their thing without having to remember anything. They are also completely reversible because they can be easily removed by a medical professional with the right tools. Some women still prefer other contraceptive methods for whatever reasons that they choose. I’m neither a woman nor knowledgeable enough about all the pros and cons of IUDs compared to pills. Point is, if you *are* a woman seeking contraceptives, discuss all the options with your doctor and gyno.
Why don’t you have tampons available in India?
So you now understand how it works so I will explain what the process of having one inserted is like:
Your going to take some over the counter anti-inflammatories before you go to the doctor.
If you have had a Pap smear the position will be the same. If not, you will have your butt scooted to the end of the bed and your legs up on some ledges. They’ll usually have a cover over your legs.
They will put in something called a speculum, which looks kind of like a ducks bill. They use lube so while a bit uncomfortable it should not hurt. It is used to allow the doctor a clear view of your cervix.
Then, they will use a long thin tube to measure how long your cervix is. This is to make sure the IUD is placed in the right spot, not too deep and not too shallow. This is the part that hurts. When I had my IUD put in they told me what I was feeling is comparable to the first contractions of labor. However, it was absolutely bearable and was over very quickly. Maybe 30 seconds max. The second time I had one put in it hurt for maybe 5 seconds and was not nearly as intense feeling. It is my understanding that this tube stays in place to act as a guiding path when placing the IUD.
Once the tube is in place, the IUD is fed through the tube with an applicator, (a platform attached to a stick freely sitting within a tube. At the end of the stick is a thumb depressor so you can push and pull the platform back and forth along the length of the tube.)
The applicator is used to insert the IUD. Once it comes out of the end it opens up into a T shape. The tube used to measure and guide is then removed. The IUD has wires which reach past the end of your cervix. So, these wires are often trimmed so they sit just inside or outside of your cervix. If left long enough to feel you’ll be able to reach them when sitting on the toilet and for the first couple weeks will feel like wire but they soften until they feel like string. If you feel the strings are too long you can get them trimmed a little more.
Once the IUD is in place and the wires trimmed the speculum is removed. They will clean you up and give you something to do a final clean yourself. If there has been any bleeding they will give you a pad.
Then, you may need to hang around for about 10 minutes just to make sure you are not going to have an allergic reaction or anything.
If you have to have it removed, which of course you will eventually have to, it is very quick. It was absolutely painless for me and kind of a non-event. The doctor simply pulls it out by the wires after inserting a speculum.
An IUD is a piece of plastic in your cervix that emits hormones that prevent egg fertilization and implantation
Back in the old days there was a magical stone you could put “up there” that would reduce your chances of pregnancy. Nowadays, it’s the same idea but science instead of magic.
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