Aa
My girlfriend needed to get an MRI done so the OB removed her Copper IUD
My girlfriend and I had sex on 4rd of Feb and I did finish twice while she was on the Copper IUD. She had a scheduled MRI today (Feb 6) and the one doing MRI asked my girlfriend for a clearance by the OB for MRI. She removed the Copper IUD instead but didn't ask my girlfriend whether we had sexual activity to prevent risk of pregnancy. I was the one who thought about the potential risk because sperm lasts for up to 5 days in this situation and it has only been 2 days. Does my girlfriend's OB know what she is doing removing it without asking about sexual activity?
COMMUNITY LEADER
Rob, it's a legitimate complaint, except it involves a whole lot of people. You're saying that nobody explained in specific detail that
- if your girlfriend was going to have an MRI, and
- since she had an IUD, and
- because it included copper,
- it would need to be removed for safety's sake,
at least someone should have
- mentioned the risk of pregnancy and
- let her decide whether to go ahead with the MRI.
(Alternatively,)
- somebody should have told you and her to refrain from sex in the five days before the removal of the IUD.
You might possibly try to make a "wrongful birth" complaint if she gets pregnant, but you fall into the problem of, who was responsible for the whole list, above? There wasn't just one doctor directing the whole thing. Who would you make a claim against? Maybe her ob/gyn didn't know she was going to get an MRI until they phoned to get cleared to remove the IUD. It's possible that nobody doing MRIs knows anything about the ramifications of removing an IUD directly after the woman has had sex. Or maybe they wouldn't think of asking, or would figure the ob/gyn covered this detail. And the ob/gyn would have to have been very alert to say "Oh, by the way, before we pull this IUD, have you had sex in the last couple of days? Because if so, we can cancel the procedure if you are worried about getting pregnant." There is just too much that fell into the purview of different specialties.
That all said, (and I get why you're annoyed), it doesn't sound like your girlfriend is likely to get pregnant from this. She has a very irregular cycle so you have a reduced chance she recently ovulated. And, women don't get pregnant every time they ovulate even when they are actively trying. And, as Kate noted, copper sets up a hostile uterine environment. (If I were trying to get pregnant, I wouldn't expect much to happen right after taking out an IUD that has copper, even if sex was exactly the day I ovulated.)
What you certainly have the right to do is talk to her ob/gyn, and say that when another part of the hospital calls for an order to remove someone's IUD, the average person probably does not know this but the first question should always be if the person has recently had sex (and doesn't want to risk pregnancy). You are right, this isn't something the average person on the street would just know, and one would hope the doctor does know it. Again, doctors aren't trained to think of things like this when they get a phone call to remove an IUD out of the blue, but if you explain how serious this was to you and how worrisome, possibly this particular doctor will learn from it.
- if your girlfriend was going to have an MRI, and
- since she had an IUD, and
- because it included copper,
- it would need to be removed for safety's sake,
at least someone should have
- mentioned the risk of pregnancy and
- let her decide whether to go ahead with the MRI.
(Alternatively,)
- somebody should have told you and her to refrain from sex in the five days before the removal of the IUD.
You might possibly try to make a "wrongful birth" complaint if she gets pregnant, but you fall into the problem of, who was responsible for the whole list, above? There wasn't just one doctor directing the whole thing. Who would you make a claim against? Maybe her ob/gyn didn't know she was going to get an MRI until they phoned to get cleared to remove the IUD. It's possible that nobody doing MRIs knows anything about the ramifications of removing an IUD directly after the woman has had sex. Or maybe they wouldn't think of asking, or would figure the ob/gyn covered this detail. And the ob/gyn would have to have been very alert to say "Oh, by the way, before we pull this IUD, have you had sex in the last couple of days? Because if so, we can cancel the procedure if you are worried about getting pregnant." There is just too much that fell into the purview of different specialties.
That all said, (and I get why you're annoyed), it doesn't sound like your girlfriend is likely to get pregnant from this. She has a very irregular cycle so you have a reduced chance she recently ovulated. And, women don't get pregnant every time they ovulate even when they are actively trying. And, as Kate noted, copper sets up a hostile uterine environment. (If I were trying to get pregnant, I wouldn't expect much to happen right after taking out an IUD that has copper, even if sex was exactly the day I ovulated.)
What you certainly have the right to do is talk to her ob/gyn, and say that when another part of the hospital calls for an order to remove someone's IUD, the average person probably does not know this but the first question should always be if the person has recently had sex (and doesn't want to risk pregnancy). You are right, this isn't something the average person on the street would just know, and one would hope the doctor does know it. Again, doctors aren't trained to think of things like this when they get a phone call to remove an IUD out of the blue, but if you explain how serious this was to you and how worrisome, possibly this particular doctor will learn from it.
2 Comments
After checking her period was on January 3rd and it's February 15th so she's 43 days in her cycle already she does have PMS symptoms for almost a week now but no period yet. If she doesn't have her period by this week then it would be concerning because that means it would be possible for her to have ovulated shortly after the IUD was removed which makes it so much more likely to result to pregnancy
But yes I understand all the points here
The copper coil is a hostile environment for sperm and so it is highly like the sperm did not survive if the coil was in place when you had sex.
1 Comments
Thank I do hope they didn't survive
COMMUNITY LEADER
So, did your girlfriend know about the MRI? I think that is probably something your doctor expects patients to self manage. They aren't able to plan the MRI or IUD removal around your sex life. It is the norm to remove the IUD before this. Does your girlfriend know where she is at in her cycle to know when her ovulation usually is?
3 Comments
She knew that she was going to get an MRI that day but she forgot she had an IUD which is why she went to her OB that day. I didn't think of it also because I know they have their own set of standards and the doctors would know better probably. Most people don't understand that sperm can survive for up to 5 days and I think the OB should at least give a heads up to patients to ensure nothing happens. If my girlfriend didn't tell me her IUD was removed there would be no concerns at all. My girlfriend is highly irregular due to her PCOS. I used to keep track of her periods until she got her IUD. She ranges from 26 days to 66 days (54 days , 51, 32, 41, 32, 32, 29, 45, 39, 48, 36, 38, 30, 37, 31, 35, 36, 66, 26 -- data I have from 2019 to 2021).
But see, she was there because she had a procedure. The ob gyn is going to take the iud out for the MRI which is scheduled and you can't just skip because she had sex . . . so that's kind of on your girlfriend. Your girlfriend shouldn't have had sex prior to the MRI/IUD removal if concerned about residual sperm and insemination. You know. I'm just being honest. The doctor did nothing wrong. She should be able to track her own periods. Right? She's off age? I think she may need to be a bit more in charge of her body. An app that tracks her cycle would be easy for her to use (she just inputs the info, it's super easy). I sincerely doubt she got pregnant from sex prior to the removal. There is a chance. But it's very slim. In 2.5 weeks, she can take a pregnancy test. But she needed the IUD out for the MRI. Doctor did their job. :>)
However she didn't know the IUD needed to removed until the day of the MRI itself. The people in charge of the MRI asked for clearance from her OB on the same day so there is no way we could've known. Based on what I read Copper IUDs are generally safe to use in the MRI but hospitals know better than to risk the possibility that it has an unwanted type of metal. It also can't be expected normal people who didn't study medicine to know medicine standards if they weren't oriented beforehand on the do's and don'ts. It really makes me wonder what if we had sex on the same day and she removed it on that same day then she might just end up pregnant depending on luck. When my girlfriend went to the OB to get it removed, there should have been standards put in place within her scope of specialty to prevent pregnancy or unwanted side effects. My girlfriend was in pain during insertion and removal because there were no painkillers (the doc THOUGHT she told her to take an hour before during the insertion process). Also, I used to track my girlfriend's period to even be more sure about her cycle but she is highly irregular and after getting an IUD I didn't find the need to anymore. She doe have an app on her own that tracks her cycle but I don't know if she stopped using it after the IUD as well. If a baby was formed then I would have to take responsibility and my girlfriend is pro life so i'm just trying to find out all my options to prevent pregnancy while I still have some control over the situation. The only emergency contraception I know that is effective 5 days after sex is the Copper IUD and the doctor is suggesting to have it placed after her period so that timing defeats the entire purpose as an emergency contraceptive. After 5 days all I can do is wait and hope. If I pulled out I wouldn't even be the slightest worried but I didn't which makes the risk go up by a whole lot
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Women's Health Community
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
Normal vaginal discharge varies in color, smell, texture and amount.
Bumps in the genital area might be STDs, but are usually not serious.
Chlamydia, an STI, often has no symptoms, but must be treated.
From skin changes to weight loss to unusual bleeding, here are 15 cancer warning signs that women tend to ignore.
