Why isn't this birth control used more?

“There’s a big push to recommend IUDs as a first-line option,” says Dweck. Though they’re expensive to buy and insert, over, say, a 10-year lifespan, they can be more cost effective than birth control pills – and health providers have caught on.

 It’s Way Too Early to Say IUDs Reduce the Risk of Cervical Cancer

A new study has some exciting findings, but they need to be put into context.

 The IUD’s Long Path to Redemption

Recovering from the oddly male history of the intrauterine device.

 The One Thing Nobody Tells You About The Copper IUD

The copper intrauterine device, or IUD, is one of the most effective methods of contraception. Have a doctor shove a T-shaped copper wire into your uterus and watch as you suddenly prove completely invulnerable to pregnancy! But when it comes to how the copper IUD actually works, without any hormones in it preventing pregnancy, most of us might not have a clue. It turns out that the mechanism that makes copper IUDs so effective is still kind of mysterious; but we do know it has to do with copper ions and how they interact with sperm as it enters the body.

 There are 5 types of IUDs — here's how to choose the best one for your body

IUDs have two major selling points. First, they're crazy effective at preventing pregnancy — much better than the pill. Second, there's no human error involved in using one. Once it's in place, you don't have to think about it. The most important thing to remember? Don't let the online IUD horror stories scare you away.

 Why Don't We Just Put IUDs in the Water?

By so many measures, intrauterine devices are the best form of birth control. Why are they still so rarely used?

The IUD revolution

Colorado proved that better birth control can dramatically reduce teen pregnancies. A new group is fighting to take that work nationwide.

When IUDs Go Terribly Wrong

As IUDs like the Mirena and Paragard rise in popularity, some women say that they were not properly informed of the side effects—with disastrous consequences.

A Birth-Control Comeback: The IUD

IUDs on the market now differ in design from the Dalkon Shield. Today, IUDs are small, T-shaped devices that use either hormones or a copper material to prevent sperm from joining with an egg. Unlike the Dalkon Shield, they don't have multifilament strings, which can attract bacteria and cause health complications. Common side effects include headache, cramps, spotting and mood changes.

An IUD in Every Uterus

A new study finds that telling providers to teach women about the benefits of IUDs and implants makes a big difference in unplanned births. But not every woman who wants one can get one.

Birth Control's Troubling Myths

Nearly a third of women are misinformed about the most effective forms of contraceptives, a new report finds.

Can the IUD Prevent Poverty, Save Taxpayers Billions?

The New York Times reports that using the Pill, Evra patch, or NuvaRing gives a 38 percent chance through five years and a 61 percent chance through 10 years. Yet the chance of pregnancy from a copper IUD is just four percent through five years (8 percent through 10 years) and levonorgestrel IUD just one percent through five years (two percent through 10 years).

Contraceptive Comeback: The Maligned IUD Gets a Second Chance ...

The problem is, IUDs have been at the bottom of the contraceptive heap for years, the victim of bad press and a four-decade-old scandal.

Contraceptive Implants Are Better at Stopping Teen Pregnancies

Contraceptives such as IUDs work best, but insurers often block access.

Could The Most Effective Birth Control Soon Become The Cheapest?

The most effective reversible forms of birth control are mostly priced out of reach for millions of women who need it most—until now. An unusual partnership between a nonprofit pharmaceutical company and a traditional pharmaceutical distributor aims to increase access to IUDs (intrauterine devices) for U.S. servicewomen and in public clinics.

IUDs safe, effective but myths live on

Painting an accurate picture of the relatively low risk of complications may help dispel some myths for both patients and doctors, said her co-researcher, Dr Caroline Harvey.

Picture a Technology Revolution. In Contraception. It’s Here

Imagine a future in which we can simply toggle the default on human fertility, so that accidental pregnancy is a thing of the past and women become fertile only when they want to become pregnant.

Teens With IUDs May Be Dropping Condoms—Which Is Bad News for STI Rates

Are IUDs and other long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs)—which happen to be the most effective forms of birth control and the best tools for reducing teen pregnancy—having the unintended consequence of decreasing condom use in young people?

The Return of the IUD: Why a Once Controversial Form of Birth Control Is Worth Considering

The future of contraception is shaping up to be a long-standing and somewhat overlooked option, the intrauterine device? Well, yes. American OB-GYNs are three times as likely to choose an IUD for themselves as any other form of birth control, according to a 2013 poll published in the journal of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Next to upper-arm implants, which typically last three years, they are the most effective reversible form of birth control available today. And yet, as of 2013, only 6.4 percent of women in the U.S. were using IUDs—compared with between 15 and 40 percent in Western Europe and China.

The use of long-acting contraceptives like IUDs has increased sixfold since 2002

A lot more women are using IUDs and implants, the most effective birth control out there.

What IUDs are, how they work, and why you might want to get one

For women uneasy about the future of healthcare, IUDs are an obvious choice.

Which IUD Should You Get?

Insertion is the same with all of them: not comfortable, exactly, but usually manageable. But the devices have different amounts of hormones — or none at all — and will change your periods in different ways. Among the hormonal IUDs, the higher the hormone amount, the more likely it is that your period will stop after six months to a year. Here’s how they compare to each other.

Why Aren’t More Young Women Choosing Set-It-and-Forget-It IUDs?

Over the past several years, the conventional wisdom on contraception has shifted in favor of the intrauterine device. Doctors and patients, no longer deterred by memories of the flawed and dangerous Dalkon Shield, are embracing devices that are 22 times less likely to fail than oral contraceptives and also happen to be the greenest form of birth control on the market.

Why Does America Have Fewer Types of IUDs Than Other Countries?

Countries around the world accommodate women’s biological variations and personal preferences with IUDs of different mechanisms, designs, sizes and costs. There are IUDs shaped like balls, loops, omegas, and snakes, and ones made with steel, gold, and even anti-inflammatory drugs. In Britain, there are 22 types of IUDs available, including several short variations for women like me. In Canada, there are nine. But not in America. In the U.S., there are only five types of IUDs, all with the same T-shape: four hormone-releasing IUDs, which vary only in their size and how much hormone they emit daily, and the copper ParaGard, which has been on the market since 1988.

Why More Women and Doctors Should Consider This Kind of Birth Control

What do you think of when someone says “birth control”? Chances are you think of a pack of pills. Or maybe you think of the ring and the patch, which are essentially pills delivered in other ways.

Why Teen Girls Aren't Using IUDs

A major reason: Many pediatricians were never trained on how to insert them.

“Pain on a Cosmic Level”

Getting an IUD can be excruciating. Is there a better way?

Americans Get Reacquainted With IUDs

After decades of sloppy research, bad publicity, lawsuits and widespread fears of health hazards, the intrauterine device is making a major comeback in the United States.

It's Time To Rediscover The IUD, Women's Health Advocates Say

What will it take to make intrauterine devices sexy? IUDs are highly effective forms of contraception, but fear of side effects, lack of training for doctors and costs can keep women away. Health organizations and private companies are trying to change that by breaking down misconceptions and broadening access.

IUDs are amazingly effective birth control. Why are they shunned in the US?

There are a lot of birth-control options, but intrauterine devices (IUDs) are the most widely used worldwide.

What’s The Difference Between Copper & Hormonal IUDs? Here’s What To Know Before You Choose One

In the past few years, IUDs have become one of the most popular types of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). Sometimes I think I’m the only one of my friends without one! But despite their rise in popularity, people still have a lot of questions about them.

Which IUD is best for you?

The bottom line? IUDs are safe, effective, and totally reversible. Whichever IUD you and your provider decide is best for you, we all win with more long-lasting, low-maintenance birth control options available.

Why is the most effective form of birth control—the IUD—also the one no one is using?

Up against bad PR and a lack of awareness, reproductive health groups are leading the charge to make the IUD a first line of defense against unplanned pregnancy. It won’t be easy.