IUD Birth Control - Case Study Example

IUD Birth Control Affiliation: There are numerous contraception methods available for use, all of which are best suited to individual users in different ways. Obtaining vast and relevant information about use of contraceptives and the various methods used in necessary, so that the method used will likely hold the minimum side effects to the user. Intrauterine Device (IUD) for birth control is one of the most commonly used contraception methods (Fritz & Speroff, 2011). An IUD is a plastic device that is T-shaped, and which is either wrapped in copper or treated with hormones (Fritz & Speroff, 2011).

An IUD is positioned in the uterus by a healthcare specialist to prevent unwanted pregnancies and/or for family planning purposes.There are two types of IUD contraceptives; Mirena and Paragard (Grimes, 2007). Mirena is the type of IUD that contains hormones. Its functionality depends on levonorgestrel, a hormone released from the IUD once inserted into the uterus. In other words, Mirena is a hormonal IUD which prevents pregnancies for the period it remains inserted into the uterus. The effectiveness of this IUD contraceptive can last for up to a period of five years, although this effectiveness is not a hundred percent guaranteed.

However, Mirena is slightly more effective compared to copper IUD.Paragard is another IUD contraceptive, and it is most commonly used compared to the hormonal IUD. In this IUD, the T-shaped plastic device is wrapped with a copper wire, preventing pregnancies by killing sperm through the toxicity of the copper wire wound around the plastic device’s stem (Grimes, 2007). This type of IUD can remain inserted into the uterus for up to a period of ten years, the period throughout which it remains effective.

Just like the hormonal IUD, Paragard’s effectiveness is not a hundred percent guaranteed, since cases of pregnancies have been reported even with this IUD still fitted into the uterus.Both the above identified IUD contraceptives (Mirena and Paragard) prevent pregnancies from occurring. They do so by hindering the egg fertilization by the sperm. The mode of functionality is ether damaging the sperm to a point that it cannot fertilize the egg, or killing it altogether, meaning that the fertilization cannot, therefore, take place.

Mirena damages or kills the sperm using a form of hormone progestin known as levonorgestrel (Fritz & Speroff, 2011). Mirena also thickens the mucus found in the cervix, making it sticky and unfavorable for sperm to get to the uterus. Over and above damaging or killing the sperm, Mirena makes the uterus a poor environment for a fertilized egg.Paragard functions by killing the sperm through the copper wound around the stem of the plastic t-shaped device (Grimes, 2007). Toxicity of copper spreads a killer fluid in the uterus and the fallopian tubes, thereby killing the sperm.

The egg cannot, therefore, be fertilized, and consequently a pregnancy cannot occur. The primary components of the fluid that the uterus and fallopian tubes produce to kill the sperm are white blood cells, copper ions, enzymes, and prostaglandins (Fritz & Speroff, 2011).Both the patient and the healthcare expert need to deliberate on the IUD matter prior to its insertion into the uterus. It is important that the patient understands all the underlying information and functionality of the two types of IUD contraceptives.

The side effects of the IUD birth control should be highlighted, as well as how they vary across different patients. The patient should know what to expect or how to deal with this method of contraception. The patient has to understand their usability, and also monitor any underlying health complications in that regard. In other words, patient safety is fundamental to account for.ReferencesFritz, M. A. & Speroff, L. (2011). Endometriosis. In Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, 8th ed., pp. 1221-1248.

Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.Grimes, D. A. (2007). Intrauterine devices (IUDs). In R.A Hatcher et al., eds., Contraceptive Technology, 19th ed., pp. 117-143. New York: Ardent Media.