Objective: This study aimed to compare immediate postplacental (IPP) and early postpartum (EP) intrauterine device (IUD) insertions with interval (INT) IUD insertions with respect to efficacy and complications.
Methods: The study group consisted of 268 women in whom the following TCu 380A IUD insertions were performed: 84 IPP (less than 10 min), 46 EP (10 min to 72 h) and 138 INT (more than 6 weeks). The women were followed up 8 weeks, 6 months and 12 months after insertion. Complications and pregnancies encountered at the end of 1 year following IPP, EP and INT insertions were compared. The chi-square test and Fisher's Exact Test were used for the evaluation of the data.
Results: Complications developed in 40.4% of the women in the IPP group, in 74.4% of the women in the EP group and in 19.2% of the women in the INT group (p<.001). Although no statistically significant difference was found between the groups for uterine perforation and infection (p>.001), there was a statistically significant difference between the groups in the incidence of complete and partial expulsion according to the time of IUD insertion. The overall cumulative pregnancy rate and frequency of pregnancy were found to be higher (p>.05 for both), which are both insignificant for the EP group (2 of 43 women), as compared with the INT (4 of 130 women) and IPP groups (2 of 84 women), and pregnancy rates at 1 year for all groups was 3.1% (8 of 257 women).
Conclusion: IPP and EP insertion of the TCu 380A IUD is an effective and convenient procedure, and expulsion rates in these groups are higher than in the INT group. Further studies are necessary to determine the cause of the higher expulsion rates and to find ways to reduce such rates.