This post is quite different from my other ones because the
purpose of it is to give information, not opinions or insights. I recently decided to get a copper
intrauterine device (IUD) as a form of birth control but when I was googling
about the IUD in Korea, I could hardly find any information in English; so, I am
writing about my experience of getting an IUD in South Korea to help other
women.
First of all, a PSA to women: if you don’t want a baby right
now and you also don’t want to take hormones to prevent a baby, check out the
copper IUD. While I had heard of the
hormonal IUD, I had never heard of a copper version until a few months
ago. Apparently, the copper IUD got a
bad rap back in the 1970s when there was a defective brand that caused pelvic
inflammatory disease (PID). The current
risk of PID is very low, however, and the IUD should be discussed more often
(in my opinion) as a potential form of birth control. What makes the copper IUD amazing is that I
don’t have to take hormones to prevent pregnancy, I don’t have to remember to
do anything ever and it lasts for 10 years!
Incase you didn’t know about this, ladies, now you do. If you want further
information about the copper IUD, click here.
After reading all about the copper IUD online, I decided it
was the best option for me. Knowing that
I would most likely not be able ask the gynecologist all of my questions regarding the IUD, I
read extensively about it. After reading
as much as I could, I described what I wanted to my female co-teacher and
after consulting with another co-worker, they decided what I was describing is
called the “loop” procedure in Korea. My
co-teacher told me where there was a gynecologist and I went the next day after
work.
Confident that the gynecologist and I would be
able to figure out what I wanted without sharing a language, I went alone. Luckily, my doctor was even able to speak enough
English to give me some counseling about the procedure. After discussing the “loop” procedure for a
few minutes, she instructed me to go into the next room to be examined. The exam chair had a curtain around it but it
stopped about a meter from the floor, leaving my lower half exposed as I
changed. It was odd to me, but I just
went with it. I then put on the cloth
skirt that replaces the paper gown we wear in the US (how unwasteful!!). While the doctor examined me, the curtain
remained between us so we could not see each other. This was strange to me and I imagine it could
be uncomfortable for some women who are used to being able to see and talk to
the doctor throughout the examination. I
wasn’t really bothered by it.
I was told that everything looked good and we could go ahead
and insert the IUD. I explained to her that
I would come back in a week. Incase it was overwhelmingly painful for me, I
wanted to have it inserted before a weekend during which I had nothing
planned; so, I made an appointment for a
week later and had the procedure. The
whole procedure literally took 60 seconds and while it was painful, it wasn’t
unbearably so. I paid 120,000 KRW
(roughly $110) and was on my way. I
spent the next day or two feeling very crampy and bloated and am happy as a
clam 2 weeks later. I now have an
extremely effective form of non-hormonal birth control that requires no maintenance
for the next 10 years. I am happy!
