Can an IUD improve your sex life?

IUDs are really good at preventing pregnancy and there’s science that shows an IUD can improve your sex life. Evidence suggests that, for many people, IUDs can improve “sexual well-being.” Sexual well-being involves being able to avoid negative sexual things such as violence or unwanted pregnancy, but it also involves more positive things such as feeling good about your sexuality and having happy, healthy sexual relationships.

How can IUDs make sex better?

As a sex-haver, your probably know that sex and sexuality are super complex. There are lots of ways that birth control could affect people’s sex lives and sense of sexual well-being. My research colleagues and I recently interviewed 50 women ages 18 - 29 to get their perspectives on how IUDs might affect sexuality.

No surprise: the people we interviewed—some of whom had used IUDs and some of whom hadn’t—reported a long list of ideas and experiences. But there were some common themes:

1. IUDs make people feel secure. For many people, there were sexual benefits of feeling extremely protected against unwanted pregnancy.

These people talked about how, with the IUD, you don’t have to worry about “that little voice inside your head"—the voice that asks questions like: "Will my period be late this month?” “Am I pregnant?” “Did I really take my pill on time each day?” Some said an IUD could allow them to enjoy sex more without worrying about pregnancy.

2. IUDs make people feel spontaneous. Some participants talked about IUDs allowing for more spontaneous sex. They compared go-with-the-flow sex with an IUD to methods you have to use in the heat of the moment like condoms and withdrawal.

While condoms work great for many couples, some don’t like how they affect sex and prefer not to use them. One woman said she and her partner had used the pill as their primary birth control, but they sometimes used condoms for additional protection—particularly if she had missed a pill. Once she started using the IUD, she said they no longer felt like they had to use a condom for back-up protection, and their sex life improved as a result.

3. IUDs make people horny. IUDs’ low or no hormones meant good things for the libidos of some of the people we interviewed. A small said the pill lowered their sex drive. In comparison, an IUD made them more interested in sex.

But what about the IUD strings?

We were surprised by just how many people in our study were worried about the IUD string—specifically about whether the string would poke a partner’s penis.

Those who had actually used an IUD were much likely to mention being worried about the strings. Viral stories about IUD string issues were much more common than personal experiences. Despite all the stories, the strings were rarely an actual problem for the folks in our study. (Pro tip: If the string is a concern for you, ask your provider to leave the strings long and coil them around the cervix.)

Other ways IUDs can impact sex

Some of the people in the study said they had increases in bleeding and cramping while using an IUD, especially the non-hormonal IUD, Paragard. For some people, sex is the last thing on their mind when their bleeding. Other people really like period sex and the lube of period blood. If periods aren’t your thing, hormonal IUDs can prevent bleeding altogether after you’ve been using them for a while.

No matter your freaky factor, sexual pleasure can be an important factor in choosing a birth control method. You’re the only one who can say how your method and pleasure might be related—so trust yourself and keep exploring until you find a method that’s a good fit for you.