Chapter 21: How to insert an IUD
Explain what will happen
during the IUD insertion
Before you insert the IUD, explain to the
woman what you are going to do. Tell her
that inserting the IUD may hurt a little but
should not hurt much. Tell her that you will
stop inserting the IUD if it hurts too much
or if she wants you to stop for any reason.
Answer any questions she has about the
IUD or the insertion.
First I will use a speculum
to gently hold open the
vagina, so I can find the
opening to your womb.
Will that
hurt?
Inserting the IUD
There are different types of IUDs, and each type is inserted in a different way.
Before you insert an IUD, you must find out how to insert the type that you have.
Most IUDs come with directions.
These are the steps you should follow no matter what type of IUD you are
inserting:
1. Ask the woman to urinate.
2. Sterilize all the tools you will need to insert the IUD and put them on a
sterilized cloth or paper.
plastic
gloves
speculum
ring forceps
and gauze or
a long swab to
clean thecervix
tenaculum
scissors
uterine
sound
Anything that goes inside the vagina, like fingers during a vaginal exam,
must be very clean. And anything that is put inside the womb, like an IUD
or IUD inserter tube, must be more than clean. It must be sterilized.
Sterilized tools must not even touch other parts of a woman’s body
before they are put into the womb. The germs on a woman’s body that
usually do not cause harm could cause a serious infection if they got into
her womb. See page 59 to learn how to sterilize tools.
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A Book for Midwives (2010)