IUD and pregnancy

[michaeladevine]

I am three months pregnant with an IUD still present. I am hoping someone has some information of the risks involved with both leaving it in and taking it out. I have been givin the stats that there is a 50% chance of losing the baby if the IUD is removed. And there is ahigher risk of infection and spontaneous abortion if it is left in. Any insight on this? anyone with a similiar experience?

[Juvysen]

:

[dewi]

Michael,
You have a twofold decision to make.
Only you can decide what you want to do and if you want to have a child. Have they determined it is not an ectopic pregnancy? The most important thing is to watch your body for any signs of infection. Has your health provider informed you what the signs are to look for infection?
If not call and get details from them.

What has your provider recommended based on your history ?


From Medscape:

Pregnancy. If a woman who has an IUD in place becomes pregnant, the clinician should immediately suspect ectopic pregnancy. Copper-containing IUDs are associated with a much lower ectopic pregnancy rate than progesterone-releasing IUDs. About 6% of IUD pregnancies are extrauterine with a ParaGard, and 24% with a Progestasert. Because IUDs protect against all types of pregnancy, it is the relative risk of pregnancy compared with the failure to use any method that is important. The relative risk of ectopic pregnancy for a woman using the ParaGard is approximately one tenth that of noncontraceptors; with the Progestasert the risk is approximately 50% to 80% greater than for women not using contraception.[19] In 8000 women-years of experience in randomized multicenter trials with the ParaGard, there has been only 1 reported extrauterine pregnancy.[20] The protection against ectopic pregnancy afforded by the copper-containing IUDs makes their use acceptable in women with prior ectopic pregnancy who are otherwise good candidates for an IUD.
Spontaneous abortion is a more likely complication of pregnancy with IUD use than is ectopic pregnancy. The spontaneous abortion rate for women wearing IUDs is approximately 50%, versus approximately 15% for all pregnant women.[21] Because of the high risk for spontaneous abortion, IUDs should be removed if pregnancy is diagnosed and either the retaining or indicator string is visible. After removal of an IUD with visible strings, the spontaneous abortion rate decreases to about 30%.[22] If an IUD is left in place, the relative risk of premature birth is increased 3- to 4.5-fold.[22-24] However, leaving an IUD in place will not raise the risk of birth defects.[25,26]
Historically, pregnancies that occurred despite the presence of the device or that were conceived before IUD insertion were more likely than other pregnancies to result in septic abortion, especially in the second trimester. However, data from 2 large cohort studies indicate no increased risk of septic abortion in women using the currently available IUDs.[26,27] If a woman that is pregnant with an IUD in place shows evidence of uterine infection, therapeutic abortion and removal of the device should be undertaken after initiation of antibiotic therapy.

[Spark]

There is a big difference between the types of IUD. Is yours the Paragaurd or the MIrenna?

[michaeladevine]

It is a copper IUD.

[michaeladevine]

Thanks for the note. Much appreciated. I have had one OB tell me not to worry about it and leave it in and have had another tell me I absolutely have to take it out. Not sure what to do.

[dewi]

Read the research from Medscape that i posted for you. Follow up on the studies, Also go to medline, plus ask the doctor for the research.
How do you usually make big decisions? What is your style, do you let decisions just unfold and and not like to take control?

Balance what seems more scary for you to manage. Keeping it in is not totally illogical! It does make sense. You have to weigh what level of risk you are okay with. According to the research both scenarios carry risk (keeping it in or taking it out).

Personally if I was in that situation (I used to have an copper 7 IUD) so it could have been me in this situation. For me i would weigh the fact it was an unwanted pregnancy and I would have it taken out and live with what ever happened. I could not have a peaceful sane pregnancy knowing the IUD was there.

I would accept the risk of removal mainly because i am willing to live with the outcome if I spontaneously aborted or medically needed to have an abortion.

If by chance all was okay with the pregnancy after it was removed I would think it was meant to be and have a grateful happy pregnancy and be mindful about early labor and risks.
Take care, let us know what you decide.

[onelilguysmommy]

op- i dont have much useful info, most of what ive seen is to get a us to check for placement of the baby and the iud and then decide based on that...
and congrats!
a determined little one

dewi- if it was ectopic (if in the tubes which I think you were talking about) she would know it by now being THREE months