Saturday 25 June 2022 10:54 PM Women STILL face excruciating contraceptive coil fittings trends now
Women are having to endure excruciating contraceptive coil fittings without pain relief – being expected to 'just grit their teeth and cope', experts have warned.
The alert comes despite new guidance issued by health chiefs last year recommending that women should always be offered 'appropriate analgesia' before the procedure, which involves inserting a small T-shaped device, about half the length of a cotton bud, into the womb.
The change was recommended by the Faculty for Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare – part of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists – after BBC broadcaster Naga Munchetty spoke of her 'traumatic' experience having a coil fitted.
While many women find coil insertion painless, some suffer cramps, discomfort and anxiety, so all should be offered an anaesthetic, the guidance added.
But exclusive data obtained by The Mail on Sunday shows that up to a third of women received no pain relief at all during the procedure. And half of women who have a contraceptive coil fitted describe the discomfort as 'five out of five' – the most extreme possible.
Women are having to endure excruciating contraceptive coil fittings without pain relief – being expected to 'just grit their teeth and cope', experts have warned. Lucy Cohen (above), 39, from Swansea, underwent the procedure last summer. 'It was horrendous, the worst pain I've ever felt,' says the accountant
Dr Philippa Kaye, a GP who focuses on female health, believes the problem stems in part from the fact that women's pain is often dismissed by the medical profession.
She says: 'Women have always been expected to put up with more pain than men – there's an assumption that it's just part of being a woman. It's really disappointing that this is still happening.'
Dr Rebecca Mawson, a GP and women's health expert at Sheffield University, adds: 'There's an attitude among some doctors that women are stoic and will just grit their teeth.'
More than one million women in the UK use the contraceptive coil, with at least 45,000 undergoing the procedure to have one fitted every year.
The alert comes despite new guidance issued by health chiefs last year recommending that women should always be offered 'appropriate analgesia' before the procedure, which involves inserting a small T-shaped device, about half the length of a cotton bud, into the womb
There are two types of coil – one made of copper and the other of plastic. The copper coil, also known as a contraceptive intrauterine device or IUD, releases copper ions into the womb. These affect the fluids in the fallopian tubes and the uterus, which become toxic to sperm cells, destroying them on contact.
It can stay in place for ten years before needing to be replaced. The plastic coil, or intrauterine system (IUS), releases the hormone-like medication progestogen which stops pregnancy and lasts up to five years.
Both coils are 99 per cent effective at preventing pregnancy, but the plastic
