THE COIL – BALANCING RISKS AND BENEFITS
It is common for the coil (intrauterine contraceptive device, or IUCD) to be chosen by the woman after all other methods have been discussed and rejected, for whatever reason. All doctors are familiar with the lady who, sitting back in her chair, looks with a marked lack of enthusiasm at the tiny curl of plastic and copper, and says, dubiously, ‘Well, I could give it a go.’ By this time, the doctor, for medico-legal reasons, has gone into gruesome detail about possible, horrific sounding side-effects, so it is surprising that women choose it at all. The next, inevitable question is ‘Will it hurt?’ In other words, the woman is accepting that here she is placing herself directly in thedoctor’shands, and is prepared to suffer the pain, vulnerability and humiliation of having a foreign body inserted into her precious womb. What can this method mean?
It is sometimes considered that this is a passive response by the woman, placing the responsibility onto the doctor. It has to be said that, as far as this doctor is concerned, such a feeling is rare. This author is usually more aware of admiration for the sheer courage of a woman prepared to undergo this experience. Why should she choose this method?
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