IUDs gain popularity as access to birth control becomes the next fight

IUD popularity explodes post Dobbs decision

What you probably already know: IUDs were already an increasingly popular birth control method for women before the Dobbs decision overturned Roe vs. Wade, but since then, demand has skyrocketed. Planned Parenthood reported a 400% increase in requests for the devices, which are inserted in the uterus to prevent pregnancy.

Why? Because most IUDs only need to be changed out once every decade or so, and are 99% effective at preventing pregnancy, they are considered extremely reliable forms of birth control. They’re also less expensive than a monthly prescription, and some are hormone-free. They are, however, quite painful to get inserted and patients are often given little to no treatment for that pain. Younger women are pushing back on that, recording themselves screaming in pain during insertions and posting the videos on TikTok in an attempt to get the medical community to do something about it rather than just telling women to deal with it.

What it means: More than 20% of women reported using an IUD between 2015 and 2019, triple the number even a few years before. Doctors told the Wall Street Journal they expected a spike after the Dobbs decision, something that has happened in the past when there’s been issues of limited access to care in certain states. Demand for IUDs jumped 22% in the month after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, for example.

What happens now? Expect the devices to continue to gain popularity as restrictions on women’s access to reproductive care continue across the U.S. Meanwhile, religious organizations have IUDs and other birth control in their sights, and are fighting to make them illegal, claiming they are akin to abortion.

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