Social Media Descriptions of Pain and Pain Management During Intrauterine Device Insertion: "Women's Pain is Not...

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are a highly effective and safe method of contraception, yet IUD insertion can be painful. Social media is a trusted source of health information for reproductive-age adults and accounts of painful and traumatic insertion are prevalent on social media. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of social media users with pain, trauma, and pain management during IUD insertion.

We identified common IUD-related hashtags or search terms on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter; identified the top posts (defined as the posts at the top of each search) and their comments for each hashtag or search term on each platform; performed directed qualitative content analysis; and summarized code frequency under each theme with descriptive statistics.

Analysis of a total of 214 total posts and comments identified three major themes describing user experiences: 1) Severe pain experiences were more common than tolerable or mild experiences, 2) some participants shared traumatic and negative emotional responses, and 3) negative or dismissive health care professional responses to painful IUD insertion were more frequent than positive and supportive responses.

Health care professionals should be aware of common narratives on social media and provide trauma-informed pain management to ensure that all patients have appropriate counseling for IUDs.