birth control

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by nikki1920

But when you have sex with someone, dont you take a risk of getting an STD anyway? Regardless of use of contraception or not?

Something about the IUD causes a greater % risk of getting the STD.

Example...you have sex with someone on time who has herpes...say you have a 40% chance of getting herpes without any contraceptive at all...when you have an IUD in, that % increases to 60% because of what the IUD does to your body. I'm not EXACTLY sure what it is...possible that the virus can "cling" to the IUD easier than it can skin...or maybe the way it's positioned.

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Something about the IUD causes a greater % risk of getting the STD.

I don't think this is entirely accurate. When a woman has an IUD inserted, there's a chance that vaginal bacteria can be pushed up into the uterus, causing an infection. In some cases, said infections can cause infertility or even death. If you're in a monogamous relationship, chances are slimmer that you actually have an infection that could be pushed up into your uterus.

If a woman hasn't already had a child, doctors are reluctant to insert an IUD for fear of causing infertility. It's similar to the reasoning behind doctors being reluctant to perform a tubal ligation on someone who hasn't yet had a baby. Why run the risk of never being able to have children?

Moreover, once a woman has had a baby, her uterus is slightly larger than it had been prior to her pregnancy. For some reason, IUDs stay in place better if the uterus is bigger. Hence, another reason to insert IUDs in women who have already had children. (And, statistically, these women are generally married. However, that statistic probably isn't as lopsided as it used to be.)

Doctors play the stats game. If your chances of having problems are greater for whatever reason (you're not in a monogamous relationship, you've never had a child, etc.), then the chances of doctors being supportive of inserting an IUD are diminished.