--- title: IUDs Most Effective for Birth Control, Doctors Group Says description: A boost for a little-used but widely effective method of contraception canonical: https://time.com/3444920/iud-pregnancy/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-29T12:47:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:23.569Z article:section: Health og:title: IUDs Most Effective for Birth Control, Doctors Group Says og:description: A boost for a little-used but widely effective method of contraception og:url: https://time.com/3444920/iud-pregnancy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc280a59ef366a8da/6986958be53aba38144d2f04/copper-iud.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5616 og:image:height: 3159 og:image:alt: A copper IUD og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: IUDs Most Effective for Birth Control, Doctors Group Says twitter:description: A boost for a little-used but widely effective method of contraception twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc280a59ef366a8da/6986958be53aba38144d2f04/copper-iud.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Doctors Advise IUD Use as Best Birth Control Method for Teenagers > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=90e0439c-406a-4e71-a5a2-c29d028acf8f&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: IUD: Breaking Down The Myths [Watch (HLS stream): IUD: Breaking Down The Myths](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pA1pVngw.m3u8) (4:52)  _Published 2014-06-30. IUD: Breaking Down The Myths_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 29, 2014 12:47 PM UTC  A copper IUD A copper IUD B. Boissonnet—BSIP/Corbis by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 29, 2014 12:47 PM UTC A leading medical group on Monday [recommended](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/24/peds.2014-2299.full.pdf) implantable rods and [intrauterine devices (IUDs)](http://time.com/the-best-form-of-birth-control-is-the-one-no-one-is-using/) as the best form of birth control for teenage girls other than abstinence. The new guidance from the [American Academy of Pediatrics](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/24/peds.2014-2299.full.pdf) (AAP), published Monday in the group’s [_Pediatrics_](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/09/24/peds.2014-2299.full.pdf)journal, touts birth control methods not commonly used in the U.S. despite widespread agreement about their effectiveness. The AAP says pediatricians, who teens consider “a highly trusted source of sexual health information,” should recommend, in decreasing order of effectiveness, progestin implants, IUDs, injectable contraception, and oral contraception for use among adolescents. (**MORE:** [The best form of birth control is the one nobody is using](http://time.com/the-best-form-of-birth-control-is-the-one-no-one-is-using/)) The doctors call oral contraceptives the least effective options for teens because many fail to use them properly and consistently. About 18% of women experience an unintended pregnancy when using male condoms, compared to 0.8% who experience unintended pregnancy while utilizing a Copper T IUD. Though IUDs are expensive at the outset, the AAP says the long-term cost is less than the cost of over-the-counter oral contraceptives. ## Transcript Well with every, not just contraceptive method but any medication, any intervention, there are all the pros, and then there are the cons. The bad things that happen, are what people talk about. There are a lot of misconceptions about the IUD, I know people worry about, lots of cramping, and having to be painful or fertility or other things like that. A lot of the misperceptions are left over, from 30 years ago and have no relevance to the, the devices that we use today. That's really what contributes to the low utilization in the US, is these myths, persist. [ MUSIC ] I, was 16, when I went on the pill, I didn't realize what sort of side effects I was in for. And I, it started off with very minor things, like getting headaches everyday, and then it moved on to like mood changes. And then I learned about the IUD and really was interested in that. It's this kind of like hidden secret that, friends tell each other about, because it's not really talked about otherwise. There is a current bias, for amongst some clinicians. that the IUD's are only indicated for older women, or those who have had all their children or at least one child. I don't really segment my practice that oh this patient is older or had children so she's a good IUD candidate. It's really a good choice for anyone who needs birth control. I heard from a few people before that oh it's really painful, and it makes you more susceptible to infections. Over the last 15 years, all of our research has then looked at IUD use, in these other groups of women. Young women, college age, teenagers, having children, not having children, and realized that all of the fear of pelvic infection, and infertility was not based on evidence. I think that for women my age, they don't even know what it is, or whether it's an option for them, because the first method of birth control that I think that women use is the pill, and it's something that's so common that you don't even think about the other possibilities. If you look at IUD use in the most of Western Europe, it's about 20 %, and in some countries, 30 %. So 1 / 3 of all women who are using birth control, have an IUD, and in America, it's about 5 %. The non- hormonal IUD has a medication that's copper, so we call it the copper IUD. And so the copper ions are released from the copper wire in the T device, and they kill sperm. But instead of having to use that every time there's intercourse, it's just sitting in the uterus at all times. It also, as a secondary back up mechanism of action, it makes the lining of the uterus, not favorable for implantation. The hormonal IUD is impregnated with one hormone, levonorgestrel, which is a type of progestin. That progestin agent is slowly released, in one of the IUD's over five years, and the other one it's three. And it creates a thick cervical mucus plug, which prevents the sperm from swimming up, and again, finding the egg. One of the more common misconceptions is that, it makes your period worse, but there are actually two hormonal types of IUD's that can eliminate your period. The hormonal IUD creates such a thin lining in the uterus, that the normal monthly cycle of buildup, doesn't happen. That's one of the reasons it lightens the menstrual period, and that's one of the thing we love about it. We use that IUD, and it's FDA approved to help women who have terrible periods. The levonorgestrel IUD is the first line, medical method to improve those bad periods. I do have some friends who use it more and more, it's, it's becoming sort of popular, I think because it's so low maintenance. Those of us who've had a lot of clinical experience in our practice. We're hoping that the use in the US, will start to look more like some of our European countries. I think there's a lot of choices, but it can be hard, you know, I wish there was something I wasn't responsible for. 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