CDC issues new guidelines to help manage potential IUD pain

Some women have taken to social media to share their experiences of pain when having an intrauterine device, or IUD, inserted. Now the Centers for Disease Control has issued guidelines to urge health care providers to address the problem.

Priya Gursahaney, MD, associate professor in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, recently appeared on Cincinnati Edition on WVXU to discuss the role that IUDs play in reproductive health care.

She explained that IUDs are small, T-shaped devices inserted inside the uterus. They fall into two categories, hormonal and nonhormonal. Both are considered more than 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancies. Both are also reversible.

Gursahaney explained the insertion procedure can be completed in a medical office or operating room, depending on a patient's needs. She said it's generally a short procedure, lasting only about five minutes.

That may be one reason a recent report shows only about four percent of doctors offer pain management options for patients during an IUD insertion procedure.

"I think because the insertion can happen very quickly, I think assumptions are made that you should be able to suck it up and get through it," Gursahaney said. "But we know now that's not the correct answer, especially if it's causing enough fear to make someone not want to consider that option, which may be the best option for them."

Gursahaney said she counsels patients on their options for pain management before, during and after the procedure.

Click here to listen to the full WVXU segment.

Featured image at top: Black and white image of stethoscope. Photo/Provided.