Post-partum bleeding and infection after post-placental IUD insertion

The incidence of excessive bleeding and endometritis in 145 women who accepted post-placental insertion of a copper T380A intrauterine device (IUD) was compared with that of 157 subjects who did not accept the insertion of the IUD. The subjects delivered at the Maternidade da Encruzilhada, Recife, Brazil in the period from March 30, 1994, to December 15, 1995. A blood sample for hemoglobin was collected before placental expulsion and 10 days after labor. The IUD was inserted up to 10 min after the expulsion of the placenta. There was no difference between the groups in the incidence of excessive bleeding, neither regarding mean hemoglobin concentration before placental expulsion (t = 0.039; p = 0.83) nor at day 10 postpartum (t = 1.04; p = 0.29). There were 5 cases of clinically diagnosed endometritis among the 145 subjects with placental-IUD (3.4%) and 7 cases among the 157 women without IUD (4.6%) (p = 0.40). Post-placental insertion appears to be a convenient approach to IUD initiation, with no observed increase in the incidence of excessive bleeding or endometritis.