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IUD insertion: possible immediately after an abortion

After an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy, the immediate insertion of an IUD is at least as effective, and no riskier than a deferred insertion.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), inserting a copper intra-uterine device (IUD) immediately after an abortion generally does not pose any particular problems.

An immediate insertion after an abortion was compared to a deferred insertion in 575 women who all wished for this form of contraception. The expulsion rate at 6 months was very low, whether the IUD was inserted immediately after the abortion or at a later date. Five pregnancies occurred within 6 months in women who had not yet had an IUD inserted, compared with no pregnancies in women who had been given an IUD immediately after the abortion.

There was no difference in the adverse effects according to whether the IUD was inserted immediately or later.

After an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy, when an IUD is the chosen method of contraception, inserting one immediately has proved to be the best option.

©Prescrire 1 October 2012

"Immediate IUD insertion after abortion" Prescrire Int 2012; 21 (131): 248. (Pdf, subscribers only).
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See also:

Intra-uterine devices:
highly effective contraception
(July 2009)
Free