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.
Latest UC News
- Cognitive decline reduced by MIND diet, study findsNational outlets including CNN, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report highlighted research led by the University of Cincinnati's Russell Sawyer that found following the MIND diet for 10 years produced a small but significant decrease in the risk of developing thinking, concentration and memory problems.
- Nationwide map shows area's risks of landslidesUC Associate Professor Daniel Sturmer talks to WVXU about a new national map identifying areas at greatest risk for landslides.
- UC Latino Alumni Network's first volunteer leader has traveled far, in distance and lifeIt was a long way from her family’s cherry farm in Prosser, Wash., to the University of Cincinnati campus. But Princesa Olivera Rabinovich was determined to try a new path. She had set her sights on UC’s engineering program and its celebrated cooperative education offerings.
- $300K grant awarded to study airborne MRSA in health care settingsUniversity of Cincinnati researchers are working to minimize health care workers' exposure to infectious diseases. An Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation grant will fund a study on the presence of MRSA in the air in hospital settings.
- Biomedical engineering student contributes to cancer researchUniversity of Cincinnati PhD student Maulee Sheth has been named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by the College of Engineering and Applied Science. A biomedical engineering student, she works in the Esfandiari lab on cancer tumor microenvironment research to better understand the disease. Through her time here, she has collaborated with researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and the UC College of Medicine.
- Misinformation is having its moment in 2024 electionUC Professor Jeffrey Blevins talks to WVXU's Cincinnati Edition about misinformation in the 2024 presidential election.