Tubal ligation no better than IUD at preventing pregnancy, study shows
Both methods fail to prevent pregnancy more often than expected, research finds

Date:
February 23, 2022
Source:
University of California - San Francisco
Summary:
IUDs work at least as well as tubal ligation, while causing fewer
side effects, according to a new study.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
IUDs work at least as well as tubal ligation, while causing fewer side
effects, according to a new study.


==========================================================================
The analysis, based on six years of Medi-Cal claims data, is the first
rigorous look at how long-term birth control methods perform in the
real world.

This study overturns the widely held assumption that tubal ligation,
which requires surgery and is permanent, is more effective than an IUD,
which can be easily removed when pregnancy is desired.

Published Feb. 22, 2022, in the Journal of General Internal Medicine,
the study found that hormonal IUDs were more effective than tubal ligation
at preventing pregnancies, while copper IUDs were as effective.

"Tubal ligation is really no longer the gold standard for pregnancy prevention," said Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, professor of medicine at
UC San Francisco and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine
at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

Researchers examined claims data from more than 83,000 Medi-Cal recipients
who received either a tubal ligation or an IUD between 2008 and 2014
to see how many became pregnant within a year. They found that 2.40
percent with levonorgestrel IUDs and 2.99 percent with copper IUDs got pregnant, compared with 2.64 percent of those who underwent laparoscopic
tubal ligations.



========================================================================== "Women are told the chance of pregnancy with these contraceptives is one
in 1,000 but we found much higher rates of pregnancy," Schwarz said. "This real- world data is really important for clinical decision-making."
The study also found that women who received IUDs were less likely to
get infections or have procedural complications, and more than six months
later had less pelvic, abdominal, and genitourinary pain than those who
had tubal ligations.

Both the relatively high failure rate for tubal ligations and the
prevalence of ongoing pelvic pain came as a surprise to the researchers,
who undertook the study at the suggestion of their patient advisory
group. The study was funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Institute (PCORI), which requires input from patient stakeholders.

"Our stakeholders wanted to know, 'When women have permanent contraceptive procedures, how safe and effective are they?'" Schwarz said. "That
question grew to, 'How do these surgical procedures compare to alternative long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs?'" These turned out to be good questions, and Schwarz said both providers and patients should heed
the answers.

"Tubal ligation is permanent," Schwarz said, "and regrets following these procedures are hard, especially when coverage of infertility treatment
is limited, as it is for Medicaid clients." Since IUDs provide at least
the same level of protection from unintended pregnancy as these surgical procedures, Schwarz said, "Patients should be encouraged to try an IUD
before going to the operating room for a permanent procedure." Authors:
First author Schwarz, was joined by Carrie A. Lewis, MPH; Melanie S.

DOVE, ScD; Eryn MURPHY, MS; and Daniel J. Tancredi, PhD, of UC Davis;
Diana Zuckerman, PhD, and Claudia Nunez-Eddy, MS, of National Center for
Health Research; Raegan McDonald-Mosley, MD, MPH, of Planned Parenthood of Maryland; Sarita Sonalkar, MD, MPH, of University of Pennsylvania; Mark Hathaway, MD, MPH, of JHPIEGO, Reproductive Health and Family Planning;
and Aileen M.

Gariepy, MD, MPH, of Yale University.

Funding: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute(R) (PCORI) Award
1609- 36359.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_San_Francisco. Original written by Laura
Kurtzman. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, Carrie A. Lewis, Melanie S. Dove, Eryn
Murphy,
Diana Zuckerman, Claudia Nunez-Eddy, Daniel J. Tancredi,
Raegan McDonald- Mosley, Sarita Sonalkar, Mark Hathaway, Aileen
M. Gariepy. Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Intrauterine
Contraception and Tubal Ligation. Journal of General Internal
Medicine, 2022; DOI: 10.1007/ s11606-022-07433-4 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220222151841.htm

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