IUD: A-OK option for family planning

MANILA, Philippines - The intrauterine device (IUD) provides greater advantages and long-term benefits to the user. IUDs have come a long way since the first ones hit the market decades ago. The most popular type of IUD in most countries today is the Model TCu 380A, which is the type currently being used for the Philippine family planning program.

The TCu 380A is a small plastic device that, once in place, provides an unparalleled 10 years of secure, safe, and worry-free protection against unplanned pregnancy. 

IUDs work by affecting the mobility and viability of the sperm. The copper triggers a chemical reaction inside the uterus, which changes the uterine environment, rendering it a hostile environment for both the egg and sperm. It also interferes with the normal travel of the ovum, thus preventing fertilization.

The IUD offers several advantages and benefits to women. Firstly, it’s not hormonal. Women who are not eligible to use hormone-based contraceptive methods due to specific conditions (e.g. breastfeeding less than six weeks postpartum, smoking more than 15 cigarettes per day, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, etc.) can reliably use the IUD.

According to the medical eligibility criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO), it has no systemic effects and does not affect other parts of the woman’s body. 

A quick out-patient procedure is all that’s necessary to get the protection offered by the device, and only minimal checkups with the doctor or healthcare provider are necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the IUD.

The IUD has a contraceptive effectiveness of 99.4 percent, and since there is no other procedure for the user to accomplish after putting it in place, user negligence or non-compliance has little or almost no effect on IUD use. According to the Philippine Clinical Standards Manual on Family Planning (2006), clinical findings show that the typical use rate and perfect use rate for IUDs are 99.4 and 99.2 percent, respectively. Typical use refers to the number of women who do not get pregnant in a year while inconsistently or incorrectly using the method, while perfect use is the percentage of women who do not become pregnant in one year of using this method when the method is used consistently and correctly all the time. For other methods of birth control, typical use effectiveness rates are usually much lower than perfect use rates because of “user error.” The IUD is one effective method that does not require daily compliance or close monitoring, and once placed by a trained and qualified medical practitioner, it offers an extremely effective means of avoiding pregnancy, since user error is removed from the equation.

Many users are drawn by the affordability of the IUD. With the IUD’s 10-year effectiveness, and affordable product and insertion fee, the estimated cost per day is just about 25 centavos or even less.

Return to fertility is immediate if the woman so decides to have the IUD removed by a doctor or health care professional. As such, women who would wish to get pregnant again may see IUD as a desirable contraceptive option.

To address the needs of couples who wish to practice family planning, DKT Philippines has created the Trust family program (TFP) that offers a range of safe and effective modern family planning options to plan for your family towards a healthier and happier life.

For more information about the IUD, call the Trust family program hotline at 6333-TFP (837), or text 0917-8231111; log on to www.tfp.com.ph.