I had my baby about 3 1/2 weeks ago, and have been looking into birth control options other than the pill. I have read very favorable responses to IUD's on this site. My question is, which IUD is better - Merena or Paraguard?? I am nursing my son and plan to nurse for the next year. Has anyone experienced low milk production when getting low dose hormones (as is in Merena)? Paraguard does not contain hormones, so is that the better way to go?
Thanks!
Hi K.,
Contact your local La Leche League representative at
someone there may have some options for you.
Good luck. D.
I had a Paraguard for about a year and really liked it. It didn't change my periods at all, and I liked not getting the hormones. It was also cheaper than the Mirena, which was important for me because my insurance doesn't cover IUDs.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
I have the Mirena. I haven't had a period since before I got pregnant-- I had the Mirena put in at 6 weeks. My OB said that many women have very, very heavy bleeding on Paraguard, and she highly recommends the Mirena. I breastfed (though not exclusively) for 11 months with it.
Everyone I know who has an IUC has Mirena and everyone LOVES it! It does hurt to have put in though-- I'd recommend either taking lots of advil, or ask for something like a valium or something (though pump and dump if you do that, lol!)
Hi K.,
there are benefits to both and i'll do my best to explain...
mirena does have progesterone (not estrogen), it's local to the uterus, so 99% of the hormone stays within the tissue of the uterus and does not get into the blood stream or breast milk, unlike the progestin shots or the pill. because of the progestin, it only lasts for 5 years (it runs out), at which time you can remove the device and replace with another in the same office visit. the main side effect is that your periods should become scant and they typically disappear within a year. since you haven't had a period yet it's likely you will never get one until you remove the device.
with paraguard, there is no hormone, so when your periods eventually return, they will remain the same as they were before your pregnancy. because there is no hormone, the device lasts 10 years instead of 5.
there are pros and cons to both, but as a person who does this for a living, i recommend the mirena over the paraguard because of the additional benefit of the progesterone as both a contraceptive option and for the lesser period effect.
you can remove both at any time and have a healthy uterus for pregnancy within one menstrual cycle.
good luck
Hi K.--I really couldn't say which is better. I have Paraguard, which I got about 6-8 weeks after my daughter's birth. I haven't had any issues with it. One of the main differences is that supposedly, Mirena will either minimize or stop your periods, but Paraguard does not. I chose Paraguard b/c I don't feel well taking hormones. Good luck figuring out the other details.
I had a Minerva (sp?) inserted 6 weeks after my daughter was born (now she is 53 weeks old). I nursed until she was 11 months with no issues. My doc recommended it for nursing moms. When it was first put in I had a bit of spotting, and when it was taken out I had light bleeding for about a week, but otherwise no cramps or spotting.
Merena does contain estrogen so it might lessen your milk production. I have also looked into these, but haven't made any decisions yet. My sister uses the paragaurd, and loves it. She decided on that one because she had been on the depo before and it took 5 years for her to get pregnant after stopping getting the shots, so she wanted something that did not have any hormones so that when she decides to try again it will not take her as long.
