Awareness of the option of IUC self-removal among US adolescents.

ABSTRACT Objective To assess adolescent awareness of the safety of self-removal of intrauterine contraception (IUC) and explore associations with sociodemographic characteristics, IUC knowledge, and personal experience using an IUC. Study design We recruited women aged 15 to 20 years from 21 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Participants completed an online survey assessing their communication with peers about contraception and knowledge and use of IUCs. Results Few (11%, 95% CI 9%–13%) adolescents knew that IUC self-removal is safe, whether or not they had personally used an IUC (14% vs 8%, p = 0.01). Knowledge that IUCs do not protect users from sexually transmitted infections (99% vs 91%, p Conclusions Adolescent women in the U.S. possess incomplete knowledge of many important aspects of IUC use, and awareness of the safety of IUC self-removal is particularly low, even among those who have used an IUC. Implications Efforts to increase adolescent knowledge of IUC should include information about the safety of IUC self-removal in order to safeguard adolescents’ reproductive autonomy.