**I am definitely not a medical professional. This article is based on my personal experience. As always, please talk to your doctor before making any medical decisions for yourself**
BK#1 was conceived with combined oral contraceptive. That “typical failure rate of 9%”, yeah that is me. I took my pill daily, and had alarm set on my phone so even if I was busy, I couldn’t forget. She is a blessing, we adore her, and in no way is she an “oops”, “accident” or many other things I have heard. The pill simply didn’t work for me.
After she was born I went on a progestin only pill (because I was nursing BK#1) AND we used condoms!
8 months later I found out I was pregnant with BK#2!! >>> Insert chaos here<<<<
Okay CDC I got you…I am the 9% and apparently in the 18% also?!?!
Our babies are our WORLD and we wouldn’t have it any other way!! Birth control, in general, just infuriates me and scares me. Why spend all this money, if planning your life for your children doesn’t work! God obviously wanted these babies, and they better become lawyers or the president or something.
For those who have a very hard time TTC, or can’t I am truly sorry. This post is not to make you feel bad, but to make woman aware of the stats, and the reality of birth control failure.
After BK#2 was born we made the decision that I would get an IUD. We were not ready to get anything permanent, and make the decision to be done having babies, but SOMETHING had to be done! My body is still recovering 6 months later. A pregnancy a year is not easy on the body, at all. Doctors say it takes a woman’s body 18 months to completely heal…..well BK#1 and BK#2 are only 17 months apart. So, even though I was scared of getting an IUD because of the risk factors, I chose to get one for my health, and sanity!
After months of talking with my DH, doctor, and midwife, we decided that I would get a Paragard.
Pros: Its more than 99% effective! I like those odds a little better. The string is a cotton string unlike most IUD’s. It is still stiff at first, but it does soften up after a few weeks. Even though it caused a little discomfort at first with my husband, after a week or so it was fine! It lasts for 10 years. No more alarms going off to take my pill, no more counting days and checking the calendar to see if I missed a day, or if the pack is right, and no more taking pills!!!! YES PLEASE.
There are no hormones, because it is a copper device. >>> No weight gain, mood swings, etc. that come along with a hormone based birth control.
I have had no spotting, or periods since the initial spotting after insertion. I don’t know if that is due to still breastfeeding, or the IUD.
I had no “adjustment time”. No cramping or pain later. 
6 months after being pregnant, and I’m not pregnant!!!!!!
My insurance paid for it in FULL! We don’t have that great of insurance either, so be sure to contact them first!
Cons: It hurt like you wouldn’t believe getting it put in! I had two natural births , and I was crying while it was getting put in, I almost passed out, I puked after she was done, and I sat in the office for 30 minutes after it was done to calm down so I could leave.
There are a lot of horror stories about IUD implanting in the uterus etc., but never did I read anything about how I felt that day.
When you get it put in after birth you have to wait a month or so. I scheduled my insertion promptly after delivery, and my midwife and OBGYN insured me that it would be super easy to insert, because of just delivering a huge baby.
IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN EASY FOR THEM!
Honestly, I felt bad for my doctor. I was a mess, but I couldn’t help it! When they dilated my cervix and inserted it I could have swore she was trying to rip out my uterus.
I suggest asking to be numbed, and some valium if you are getting it!
There are the horror stories of IUDs, but that comes with anything. There are even horror stories for the pill. Its really how you take care of yourself, and making sure you go for your regular checks, and are checking yourself!
The pain of insertion is the only bad thing I have to say about Paragard!
Would I do it again? Maybe? If they could drug me up, or knock me out! I think its worth it for 10 years.
Be sure to talk about all of your options with your doctor, and educate yourself before putting anything into your body! I hope my experiences can help you!!
~Amanda~
Perfectly Imperfect Parenting 
I loved paragard! I’m glad to see more and more people talking about it. I got mine about 5 years ago after I had my first son. After a couple years I had it removed so we could have more children. We have three kids now and our family is complete. Now we’re deciding whether we want to use paragard again or just go the vasectomy route and be *officially* done haha
Anyways, I recommend paragard to everyone. I didn’t have nearly the amount of pain you did during insertion though. It wasn’t bad for me at all… Mild cramping at most. To me it felt a lot like when they check your cervix for dilation when you’re in labor. Uncomfortable but not terrible. So it must be different for everyone I’m assuming? My ob/gyn inserted a vaginal suppository that dilated my cervix, though. I’m not sure if that’s standard or not but that may be why I didn’t have any pain?
My only complaint with paragard was that my husband and I could both kind of feel it a little bit during sex sometimes. It wasn’t awful or anything, just kind of annoying randomly. Nothing that would make me not get it again though.
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We only had little discomfort at first, and haven’t been bothered since, so maybe your string is too short and not tucked up behind your cervix?
Thanks for reading!
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