Getting an IUD can hurt. B.C. doctors say it doesn't have to
Dr. Ana Armas Enriquez remembers the agony of getting an intrauterine device (IUD) as a teen.
“It was a horrible pain,” she said. “It’s excruciating.”
Decades later, the Nanaimo-based women’s health physician strives to alleviate that pain for her patients.
There are several pain-management tools to choose from, including oral painkillers, numbing gel, a cervical anaesthetic, and in extreme cases, sedation. Those options aren’t always offered to patients, Armas Enriquez said.
“It’s like going to a dentist and getting a root canal or a tooth extraction and not being offered freezing,” said Armas Enriquez, owner of Women’s Vita Medical Clinic.
Kaitlynn Hoffman has had several IUDs, which are inserted into the uterus through the cervix.
“It was quite painful and I was not offered any… pain management aside from being told Tylenol would work,” she said.
“It just feels like somebody is stabbing you with… some sort of sharp object in your uterus.”
She underwent the procedure for the third time in October. That time, Hoffman said she was offered cervical numbing and an Ativan.
“That was the best experience that I’ve had,” Hoffman said.
'WOMEN'S PAIN DOESN'T MATTER'
Last year, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada released a statement outlining pain management options. Still, a family planning physician said there aren’t any firm rules that explain how to make a patient more comfortable.
“Pain management is individual and it involves combining multiple methods. That’s very hard to study and so that’s why we don’t have clear guidelines and a lot of people assume that means to use nothing,” said Dr. Renée Hall, co-medical director at Willow Clinic.
Hall trains other physicians on IUD insertion. She said medical schools need to provide more robust training for the procedure.
“We have a lot of people who would never even consider one of the most effective options for birth control that has one of the lowest doses of hormones… because of all that they’ve heard from their friends about how painful and traumatic it was,” she said.
Asking women to grit their teeth through the procedure sends the message, "That women’s pain doesn’t matter or that we can tolerate more,” Hall said.
MEDICATION COMES AT A COST
Hall and Armas Enriquez said doctors need to be paid more for IUD insertions.
Their practices focus largely on women’s health, which means they aren’t compensated under B.C.’s family physician payment schedule. The province introduced the payment model in 2022 to address the doctor shortage through increased pay.
“I cannot participate in such a program because then I have to redefine my practice,” Armas Enriquez said.
As a result, she and Hall are compensated under the old fee-for-service model. That means they make $46.79 per IUD insertion.
That fee does not cover the cost of a cervical anaesthetic, an injection that numbs the cervix.
“How many people… with a debt of three quarters of a million dollars from going to med school in family practice can afford to do all of this?” Armas Enriquez said.
The health ministry said work is underway to improve compensation for IUD insertions.
Going forward, Hoffman is optimistic more patients will have a positive experience like she had in October.
“Hopefully we can learn from the doctors that are doing the work and taking the time just to make the experience a little bit better,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.