Can I Take Birth Control Pills and Have An IUD? Is That Extra Protective?

Can you do it? It depends on the type of IUD.

If it’s a non-hormonal IUD, like a copper T, then yes you can also use birth control pills.

The copper T can be really effective at preventing pregnancy, but it doesn’t have the effects on the menstrual cycle like the hormonal IUD does. The hormonal IUD can lead to decreased menstrual flow and also reduced cramping. Some people stop getting their period all together.

Because the copper T doesn’t have hormones, you don’t get those benefits. And there may be more cramping in the first few months after you have it put in.

Using birth control pills with a copper T may help with that increased cramping in the short term.

And if you use them both over the long term, you’ll have the effectiveness of the IUD combined with the hormonal benefits of the pill.

Is using both extra protective?

Statistically yes.

The copper T can be used for 10 – 12 years, and it is 99% effective at preventing pregnancy.

Birth control pills have to be taken daily, at around the same time every day. In the perfect world they can also be 99% effective at preventing pregnancy. But in the real world, where people forget to take their pill consistently, it’s more like 93% effective.

So between the two of them, yes there is slightly more protection against pregnancy.

But that assumes you’re using the pill correctly. It’s not good if you forget to take the pill on a regular basis, thinking that you have the IUD as backup.

Not taking the pill every day can lead to irregular bleeding and worse cramping than usual. And depending on how many days you miss you can start getting things like nausea and headaches as your body tries to adjust to the random changes in hormones. This applies to missing the active pills, not the placebo ones.

What about STIs?

You asked about extra protection, and while I’ve talked only about pregnancy so far, protection from STIs may also be something you want to think about too.

IUDs provide no STI protection.

Same for the birth control pill.

If you also want protection from STIs then you need to use a barrier method like an internal or external condom. And you can absolutely use both of those with an IUD and the pill.

Until next time, be safe, and have fun!

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