The campus clinic started providing these options prior to recent provincial changes
Illustration by Chloe Latour.
In the past year, the UVic Student Wellness Centre (SWC) has started offering localized pain management options for intrauterine device (IUD) insertions, an often painful procedure where a long-lasting contraceptive device is placed inside of a patient’s uterus.
Annie Lucas is the associate director of clinical health in student wellness at the SWC. She told the Martlet that the SWC now offers multiple options for dealing with pain during IUD insertions, such as a cervical numbing spray or an injection that numbs the cervix.
The SWC started offering these management techniques a year ago, after hearing from students who were interested in numbing options. “Students were asking about it more,” said Lucas. “We quickly got the team together and decided we should make sure that we’re able to offer this to students.” Lucas explained that the healthcare team also looked at clinical data to make sure that this practice remains safe for students at the SWC.
Lucas added that she thinks students might have been more interested in pain management after hearing about these options online. She noted that sexism in medicine has prevented these techniques from being at the forefront of clinical testing in reproductive medicine. This is why students advocating for themselves brought this change to the SWC, said Lucas.
“With procedures like IUD insertions, we’ve really found that the more agency someone has, … that it just makes for a better experience,” she said.
In December, the B.C. Ministry of Health added a fee to its Medical Services Commission (MSC) Payment Schedule that allows doctors to charge the government for the use of cervical blocking. This fee was implemented to encourage clinics to offer localized pain management options for gynecological procedures like IUD insertions.
Lucas noted that this change hasn’t affected the SWC’s IUD pain management strategies. “It’s great to see that, and it helps with operational costs … but we started doing it before [this fee change],” she said.
Keina, who chose to keep her last name anonymous due to the personal nature of the procedure, is a first-year student who plans on applying to UVic’s nursing program. She got an IUD inserted at the SWC in December.
She was offered both the numbing spray and injection, and was also advised to take ibuprofen before the insertion.
“It’s a really painful procedure,” she told the Martlet. “I can’t imagine what that would have felt like without anything … I wouldn’t have gotten it at all if there wasn’t any pain management.”
Sophie McIntyre, a recent UVic psychology graduate, had two IUDs inserted at the SWC — one in 2020 and the next in 2021.
“During the consult, they told me that the procedure would be slightly uncomfortable, but that the pain wouldn’t last too long,” she told the Martlet.
McIntyre said she felt underprepared for the amount of pain she would experience. “It was probably the most painful few moments of my life,” she said. “Although it was brief, it was brutal … Experiencing that pain was really shocking.”
When she decided to try another type of IUD in 2021, McIntyre said the experience was no different than her first time.
“Everyone at the clinic was super nice, friendly, and tried their best to make me feel comfortable, but I just felt completely in the dark about what it would feel like,” McIntyre said. “I really expected more as far as pain management went.”
Molly, a third-year student in the religion, culture, and society program who also requested to keep her last name anonymous, had an initial appointment with a nurse who explained the IUD insertion process.
“[The nurse] had an IUD that she [used to show] me how the whole process worked,” said Molly. “I felt like she explained it well. She said that it feels like a really intense period cramp, and that was pretty accurate.”
The SWC also advised Molly to take ibuprofen to help with the pain. She was concerned about the pain, but she said that the nurse did not mention any type of pain management to her during the consultation.
“I’m really happy with my decision to get an IUD,” said Molly. “I would do it again at the Wellness Centre because it’s accessible.”
