Contents:
- Medical Video: How Intrauterine Device Prevent Pregnancy? - Manipal Hospital
- Why do women get pregnant again even though they already use an IUD?
- Signs and symptoms of pregnancy when using an IUD
- Various risks of pregnancy when using an IUD
Medical Video: How Intrauterine Device Prevent Pregnancy? - Manipal Hospital
An IUD is a T-shaped contraceptive that is installed in the uterus to prevent pregnancy. The level of efficacy of the IUD reached 99.7 percent so it is quite popular to be used by women who want to delay or do not want to get pregnant again. However, in fact women who have used an IUD can still concede to being pregnant again even though the possibilities are very small. How can? See the full explanation below.
Why do women get pregnant again even though they already use an IUD?
According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), an IUD is one of the most effective contraceptives with a failure rate of less than one percent in the first year of use. The IUD works by releasing the progestin hormone, which functions to thicken mucus in the cervix to stop sperm from fertilizing the egg, so the pregnancy will not occur.
In very rare cases, pregnancy can occur in women who are currently using an IUD. This can be caused by the position of the IUD which shifts partially or completely until it exits the uterus.
According to ACOG, this case occurs in about 5 percent of women during the first year of use. That's why doctors recommend that women who use an IUD to control one month later to make sure the IUD is still properly inserted in the uterus.
Reporting from LiveScience, some IUDs do not always protect against the risk of pregnancy after being installed in the womb. This is because the IUD with hormones effectively protects from pregnancy if it is installed on the first seven days of menstruation.
If a hormonal IUD is inserted outside the menstrual period, then women need to use other types of contraception to help prevent pregnancy, one of them using a condom. This should continue to be done for seven days after the installation of the IUD.
Signs and symptoms of pregnancy when using an IUD
Women who get pregnant while on an ordinary IUD experience the same signs and symptoms as pregnancy in general. The symptoms are pain in the breast, nausea, and fatigue.
If you feel any of these symptoms, contact your doctor immediately to find out if you are pregnant or not. For starters, do a pregnancy test at home as early as possible so that the signs of pregnancy can be known more quickly. After that, then you can do a blood test in the laboratory to confirm it.
Various risks of pregnancy when using an IUD
Having a pregnancy with an IUD that is still attached to the uterus turns out to have a risk that is quite dangerous for pregnant women. Because, about 50 percent of pregnancies with an IUD are at risk of miscarriage if the IUD is still left in its place.
Therefore, obstetricians generally recommend that IUD is immediately removed so that the pregnancy can continue. However, there is still a 25 percent risk of miscarriage if the IUD is removed.
In addition, women who are pregnant when using an IUD are also at risk of experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, namely the condition when the fertilized egg sticks outside the uterus, not the uterine wall. This condition is also known as pregnancy outside the womb or pregnancy wine. Most cases of ectopic pregnancy always end in miscarriage. This is why, being pregnant with an IUD must be monitored by a doctor to prevent permanent damage to the female reproductive system.
If you experience it, immediately consult a doctor. Your doctor will probably do your blood test once and continue it after 48 hours to ensure that the hormone hCG (pregnancy hormone) condition continues to increase. If so, this is a sign that your pregnancy can still be maintained and not including pregnant wine.
