Postpartum intrauterine device insertion and postpartum tubal sterilization in the United States

The purpose of this study was to estimate US rates of postpartum intrauterine device (IUD) insertion and postpartum tubal sterilization.

Data from the 2001-2008 Nationwide Inpatient Sample were used to identify delivery hospitalizations with IUD insertion or tubal sterilization procedure codes.

Estimated rates of postpartum IUD insertion and postpartum tubal sterilization were 0.27 and 770.67 per 10,000 deliveries, respectively. Although the rate of IUD insertion was similar across age groups, the rate of tubal sterilization increased with age. Nonetheless, 15% of tubal sterilizations occurred among women who were ≤ 24 years old. IUD insertion was more likely among women who delivered at teaching hospitals (odds ratio, 3.02; 95% confidence interval, 1.43-6.37); tubal sterilization was more likely among women without private insurance (odds ratio, 2.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.97-2.11).

Among US postpartum women, IUD insertion occurs considerably less frequently than tubal sterilization, even among younger women for whom poststerilization regret is a concern.