Quote:
Originally Posted by Adri
Isn't the IUD really dangerous? Perhaps I'm thinking of something else. The IUD is the implant in your arm, right?
Condoms > Natural Family Planning
Update: My husband wants me to stop taking the Pill, he says he can't handle me. LOL.
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The IUD stands for intrauterine device, meaning it's a little contraption that they stick in your uterus. The two kinds available in the United States are the Paraguard Copper-T IUD: (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragard) and the Mirena: (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IntraUterine_System). The Mirena is coated with progresterone, a hormone. The Paraguard, by contrast, is made of plastic and copper wire--no hormone, but the copper acts as a spermicide.
There was a notably bad IUD in the 1970s called the Dalkon Shield, but millions of women the world over have been using the IUD for years without problems, which is why it continues to be the no. 1 form of birth control everywhere but the United States (where since the incident of the Dalkon Shield, use of the IUD decreased, but it is on the rise again).
The device you were referring to is Norplant, which is no longer on the market in the United States.