Why would I want to use an intrauterine device (IUD)?

You may be a good candidate for an IUD if you:

• Do not have a pelvic infection at the time of IUD insertion.
• Have only one sex partner who does not have other sex partners and who is infection-free. This means you are not at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), or you and your partner are willing to also use condoms.
• Want an effective, long-acting method of birth control that requires little effort and is easily reversible.
• Cannot or do not want to use birth control pills or other hormonal birth control methods.
• Are breastfeeding.

The copper IUD is recommended for emergency contraception if you have had unprotected sex in the past few days and need to avoid pregnancy and you plan to continue using the IUD for birth control. As a short-term type of emergency contraception, the copper IUD is more expensive than emergency contraception with hormone pills.