Pre-fit Coil Advice

Before your appointment

Your appointment is for half an hour – please keep children at home (babies are welcome).

Please make sure that you have something to eat before your appointment.

The fitting process can be uncomfortable and you may wish to take a tablet painkiller that is safe for you, an hour or so before the procedure.

It is important that there is no chance you could be pregnant when we fit your coil. Do not have sex from the start of your period until the insertion, unless you are using a method of contraception reliably and consistently.

1. If you are taking the pill, continue to take it carefully up until the day of fitting.
2. If you have had a contraceptive injection, come before the injection runs out (12 weeks and 5 days since the last injection).
3. If you have an implant in place, we prefer to fit the coil first and take the implant out, at least one week later.
4. If you are using condoms, it may be best to try and abstain, as if you have a burst condom and take emergency contraception in the 7 days before fitting, we probably cannot fit the coil until you have had a normal period.
5. If you already have a coil in place, please either abstain from sexual intercourse or use a condom carefully in the 7 days before you attend the clinic. Sperm live in the pelvis for 7 days, and a new coil may take 7 days to work, so there is a theoretical chance of pregnancy if this advice is not followed.
6. If your coil is out of date you should not have sex for 21 days (3 weeks) before the appointment so that a pregnancy test is valid.

If you are worried you may have a vaginal infection please book for swabs prior to the fitting with one of our nurses.

It is OK to have a coil fitted if you are bleeding; please attend your appointment as usual. Only very heavy bleeding would stop placement.

Risks of the procedure include:

• Bleeding
• Pain
• Infection
• Contraception failure (< 2/1000 over 5 years)
• Uterine perforation (2/1,100 if breastfeeding)
• Expulsion (1/20), ectopic pregnancy (overall risk reduced compared to women not using contraception). Cervical shock (a temporary episode of faintness as the coilis inserted, usually treated by stopping the procedure).
• Change in bleeding pattern to heavy, irregular, prolonged and/or absent bleeding, hormonal side effects.