Postpartum IUD use up with intracesarean placement

(HealthDay)—The proportion of women using intrauterine devices (IUDs) at six months postpartum is higher for those undergoing intracesarean delivery placement versus those with planned interval IUD placement, according to a study published online June 5 in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Erika E. Levi, M.D., M.P.H., from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., and colleagues compared IUD use at six months postpartum among women who underwent intracesarean delivery IUD placement versus women who planned for interval IUD placement at six or more weeks postpartum. One hundred twelve women were randomized into the trial (56 in each group). Data on IUD use at six months postpartum were available for 98 women: 48 in the intracesarean delivery group and 50 in the interval group.

The researchers found that the proportion of women using an IUD at six months postpartum was significantly higher in women in the intracesarean delivery group versus the interval group (83 versus 64 percent; relative risk, 1.3). Of the 56 women in the interval IUD insertion group, 39 percent never received an IUD placement; 25, 9, and 5 percent failed to return for IUD placement, declined an IUD, and had a failed IUD placement, respectively.

"Intrauterine device placement at the time of cesarean delivery leads to a higher proportion of IUD use at six months postpartum when compared with interval IUD placement," the authors write.

Copyright © 2015 HealthDay. All rights reserved.