IUD users have less repeat abortions

Free access to long-term birth control after women have had an abortion may help them avoid a second one, New Zealand researchers suggest. Of 510 women who'd been given free contraceptives at an abortion clinic, less than six percent of those who continue to use an intrauterine device (IUD), ended up having another abortion within two years. But those who were taking birth control pills, 13 percent of them had a repeat abortion. For condom users, the ratio was 17 percent. This result suggests the use of long-acting birth control methods should be promoted to women following an abortion, according to the researchers. "In the United States, widespread access to IUDs has been hampered by barriers including costs, lack of provider training, and misconceptions held by both patients and providers," wrote Sally Rose and Dr. Beverley Lawton of the University of Otago in Wellington. Their study comes after a new proposal from the U.S.-based Institute of Medicine calling on insurers to cover all birth control methods. The Institute also recommends that birth control should be available without co-pays in order to reduce upfront costs and encourage its use. Even though IUDs are regarded as the most effective type of birth control, the high cost of inserting the device usually prevents people choosing it, Sonfield said. As time passes by, the device may end up being less expensive than birth control pills because it lasts for at least 12 years. Moreover, providing birth control immediately after an abortion has several advantages, including “high motivation, less discomfort, assurance a woman is not pregnant and reduced burden on both the patient and the healthcare system,” said Dr. Suzan Goodman, who teaches family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. At present, two types of IUDs are available: a plastic model that releases hormones (sold as Mirena) and a copper model (Paraguard).