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Women might be reluctant to choose an intrauterine device (IUD) because of perceived lack of control over its removal. To assess experience, acceptability, and success of IUD self-removal, researchers conducted a study involving 326 women who sought IUD removal at one of five U.S. clinics. Participants completed a survey including questions such as reasons for desiring IUD removal, then were offered the option of self-removal and given how-to information. Afterwards, they completed a second survey about the removal experience (e.g., comfort, incidence of cramping, likelihood of recommending self-removal to a friend).
Among the 59% of women who were willing to try self-removal, 1 in 5 succeeded. Mean time to removal was 3.6 minutes. Women wer…