Women's Perspective and Beliefs about Barriers to IUD Use: A Qualitative Study

IUD is a common contraceptive method in the world. According to statistics reported by the national research of Integrated Monitoring Evaluation System in Iran (IMES), IUD was used by 11.9% contraceptive users in Iran in 2005, but it was only 4% in Khomein, which is very low compared to the national statistics. This study aimed at exploring the viewpoints and beliefs of women in Khomein about barriers to the use of IUD. This study is a qualitative research based on focus group discussions. Data was collected from married women, eligible for contraceptive use with ages 15-49 years inhabiting villages of Khomein. In focus group discussions, one person moderated the discussion and one person recorded the interviews. Data was analyzed according to the Content Analysis method. Majority of participants did not intend to use IUD. The most important reasons for this were side effects and false beliefs. Other reasons included feelings (fears and anxiety about the fitting of an IUD) and lack of information about IUD and its advantages and disadvantages, influence of other people’s views (care providers, etc) and husband’s dissatisfaction. With regard to the effective role of health care personnel and husbands, and also the significant role of the obstetrician’s and physician’s skill in choosing the appropriate contraception method, and with regard to the poor information of women about IUD, further training on correct IUD insertion and promoting the family planning counseling skills of health care personnel and improving the involvement of men in the family planning process is obviously necessary.