What is a Mirena IUD and how does it work? The truth about the device THOUSANDS of women use
- Here’s everything you need to know about how the Mirena IUD works
Channel 4 viewers have praised Davina McCall for getting her reel replaced on TV.
The 55-year-old presenter looked at women’s problems with contraception in an hour-long documentary that aired on the night of Thursday, June 9.
As part of her eye-opening Pill Revolution program, Davina was filmed having her Mirena coil removed and replaced.
But what exactly is the Mirena IUD and how does the contraceptive actually work?
Read everything you need to know about the Mirena IUD below.
Davina McCall looked at the biggest issues with birth control during her hour-long documentary, Pill Revolutionary. During the program she had her Mirena IUD replaced
What is the Mirena coil?
The Mirena coil is a hormonal intrauterine system (IUS), which can be used as a method of contraception, as well as to treat heavy periods and protect the uterine lining during menopause.
There is a small risk of infection once applied, but it can be removed at any time.
IUDs, such as the Mirena coil, release progesterone instead of copper, which are found in intrauterine devices (IUDs).
McCall, who uses the Mirena coil as a form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), hoped her show would help debunk the “horror stories” surrounding the five-minute procedure.
Women have been putting off getting the IUD for years because of claims that it is painful to insert. Some viewers even claimed that the “gruesome” pain they endured was worse than giving birth.
How does the Mirena IUD work?
After being inserted into the uterus, the Mirena IUD works by releasing the progesterone hormone levonorgestrel.
The hormone is then released steadily over a period of five years or until it is removed.
In terms of birth control, the Mirena coil helps prevent pregnancy by thickening mucus in the cervix to prevent sperm from reaching or fertilizing an egg.
The type of coil used by Davina McCall also thins the lining of the uterus, partially suppressing ovulation.
The NHS says an IUS is more than 99% effective for five years, after which a replacement Mirena coil must be inserted to maintain the contraceptive effect.
An IUD, or IUD, is a small T-shaped plastic and copper device that is placed in your uterus
Fertility returns to normal almost immediately after removing the Mirena IUD, which can still be used if you are breastfeeding.
When it comes to HRT, the Mirena replaces progestin, the hormone that is no longer produced by women’s bodies at the time of menopause.
Davina – responding in real time – described the adjustment as “uncomfortable,” but added: “It’s not too bad and with this gel I hardly feel anything.”
Prior to insertion, she was given a numbing gel, which was performed by Dame Lesley Regan, one of Britain’s leading gynecologists and the government’s czar for women’s health.
Davina applauded the breathing advice given to her, telling her to “exhale your breath so it hits the ceiling” as she removed the coil.
The ex-Big Brother host did admit to having had two painful coil incidents in the past, including one that felt like an “abrasion.”
As a younger woman, she had previously used the IUD as a contraceptive.