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IUD Toolkit

Up-to-date evidence and best practices related to the Intrauterine Device

All couples and individuals have the basic human right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education, and means to do so. Under the Cairo Programme of Action, 180 governments have committed to "…provide universal access to a full range of safe and reliable family-planning methods…" (para 7.16) and to "…conform to ethical and professional standards in the delivery of family planning and related reproductive health services aimed at ensuring responsible, voluntary and informed consent…" (para 7.17) (United Nations Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, 1994).
Greater contraceptive choice has been shown to improve uptake and use of all methods (Pariani et al., 1991); (Steele et al., 1999), therefore, it is important that women have access to an array of methods, including the IUD.
Good pre-insertion counseling on side effects has been shown to improve continuation rates of IUDs (Backman et al., 2002); (Zetina-Lozano, 1983).
Women who request an IUD, who are given the method, and whose husbands agree with their choice are less likely to discontinue use by 12 months than are woman who are not granted their initial choice and whose husbands do not agree with their choice (Pariani et al., 1991).