Copper and hormonal intrauterine devices fitted, checked and removed by Dr. Kunda Shahane — MBBS · MS (Obs & Gynae) · FIFM · FMF (London). Every contraceptive option is discussed before a device is offered, because the device is not always the right answer.
The short answer
An intrauterine device is a small device placed inside the uterus that prevents pregnancy for years at a time and is removed whenever you decide. It comes in two families: copper devices, which contain no hormone, and the hormonal intrauterine system, which releases a small dose of progestogen locally. Both are among the most effective reversible methods available, with under one pregnancy per hundred women per year, and neither delays the return of fertility once removed. At Mayflower Fetal Medicine & High-Risk Pregnancy Centre in Dhantoli, Dr. Kunda Shahane fits and removes both, and reviews the whole contraceptive basket first — pills, injectable, implant, barrier methods, emergency contraception and permanent methods — before anything is recommended.
Women arrive asking for a Copper-T because it is the method they have heard of, and leave with something else about as often as they leave with a device. Bleeding pattern, whether you have completed your family, whether you can take a hormone, how long you want cover for, breastfeeding, and cost all move the answer. Dr. Kunda Shahane is an obstetrician-gynaecologist with 20+ years in medicine and 14+ years in fetal medicine, and she manages the pregnancies these decisions are about — so contraception is discussed as part of a reproductive plan rather than as a product to be dispensed. If counselling is what you actually want rather than a specific method, start at family planning.
At a glance
The full basket
India’s national family planning programme provides condoms, combined oral contraceptive pills, emergency contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices and sterilisation free through government facilities, and the basket was expanded to include the injectable contraceptive under the Antara programme and Centchroman under the brand name Chhaya. Post-partum and post-abortion device insertion are part of the same programme. Every one of these is a legitimate option and each suits a different woman.
| Method | How long it works | Effect on periods | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper IUD (Cu T 380A, Multiload) | About 5–10 years by device | Often heavier and more crampy, especially early on | Long spacing without any hormone; also usable as emergency contraception within five days |
| Hormonal IUS (52 mg levonorgestrel) | About 5 years | Usually much lighter; periods may stop altogether | Women who want contraception and lighter bleeding at the same time |
| Injectable (Antara programme, MPA) | One injection every three months | Irregular spotting early; often no periods later | Women who want privacy and no daily routine, and are not in a hurry to conceive |
| Combined pill | Daily, ongoing | Usually lighter and more predictable | Women who want cycle control and can remember a daily tablet |
| Centchroman (Chhaya) | Weekly tablet after an initial phase | Cycles may lengthen | Women who want a non-hormonal tablet; developed and used in India |
| Progestogen-only pill | Daily, ongoing | Often irregular | Breastfeeding women and those who cannot take oestrogen |
| Condoms | Each act of intercourse | None | The only method that also protects against sexually transmitted infection |
| Emergency contraceptive pill | A single dose after unprotected sex | Next period may come early or late | A backup, not a routine method |
| Female sterilisation | Permanent | Unchanged | Women who have completed their family — see tubal ligation |
Two honest notes on that table. Only condoms protect against infection, so a woman with an IUD who needs that protection needs both. And no reversible method is entirely without a failure rate — the intrauterine methods come closest, but nothing here is a guarantee.
Which one suits you
This is what intrauterine devices are for. One insertion covers the whole gap, nothing has to be remembered daily, and fertility returns the moment it comes out. A woman planning to conceive again within six months often wants a method with no lag at all, which the IUD also provides — unlike the injectable, where return of fertility can take several months.
A copper device will usually make them heavier, which is the wrong direction. The hormonal system does the opposite and is used specifically to reduce menstrual blood loss, so it can solve two problems at once. Heavy bleeding also deserves a cause to be found rather than only managed — see menstrual disorders and fibroids.
A postpartum device can be inserted within about forty-eight hours of delivery or during a caesarean, and this is part of the national programme. It is convenient and safe, and it carries a higher chance of the device shifting downward or being expelled than an insertion done later, so the check-up is not optional.
Breastfeeding is not reliable contraception once feeds become less frequent, once periods return, or after six months. Copper devices, the hormonal system, the progestogen-only pill and the injectable are all compatible with breastfeeding. Combined pills containing oestrogen are usually deferred.
Both a permanent method and a long-acting reversible one are reasonable, and the choice is genuinely open. Sterilisation ends the question; a ten-year device also comfortably covers the years to menopause for many women in their forties, without a decision that cannot be undone. Neither is the better answer in the abstract.
Contraception is one part of a wider conversation that also covers cycles, immunity, thyroid, anaemia and carrier status. Pre-marriage counselling is a better first appointment than a contraception appointment, and the method decision falls out of it.
The visit
Before you come
Honest limits
Intrauterine contraception is safe and very effective, and it is not risk-free. A woman who is told only the good half of that is not in a position to choose.
Checking and removal
Two situations bring women back most often. The first is threads that can no longer be felt. Most of the time they have simply curled into the cervical canal and everything is fine, but the possibilities also include a device that has been expelled without being noticed, or one that has moved. An ultrasound is used to locate the device and confirm where it is sitting. Until that has been done, use condoms.
The second is a device that is years past its date. A woman fitted with a ten-year device at thirty-two frequently cannot say, at forty-five, what was fitted or when. If you are in that position, bring whatever paperwork exists and come anyway — the device can be identified, checked and removed, and there is nothing to apologise for. Removal itself is usually a matter of seconds, and a new device can be fitted in the same visit if you want to continue.
Any ultrasound performed at this centre to locate or check an intrauterine device is a device-position check and nothing else. It is not used, and will not be used, to determine or disclose the sex of a fetus in any circumstances.
Dr. Kunda Shahane is an obstetrician-gynaecologist first and a fetal medicine specialist second, and that order shapes how contraception is handled here. She knows the pregnancy you are spacing, the delivery you are recovering from, and the medical conditions — thyroid, diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease — that change which method is safe for you. She examines, she inserts, she removes, and she manages what follows, including the surgery when it comes to that. If you decide later that you want to conceive, the same doctor takes the device out and manages the pregnancy.
See the full women’s health and gynaecology service, read about family planning counselling, or read Dr. Kunda’s training and credentials.
Cost
The consultation, the device itself and the insertion are charged separately, and the device is the part that varies most — a copper device and a hormonal system are very different in price. Removal is charged separately again. Rather than publish a figure that may not apply to you, we will tell you the current charge for exactly what is planned before anything is done.
Intrauterine devices, condoms, oral pills, emergency contraception, the Antara injectable, Chhaya and sterilisation are all provided free through government health facilities under the national family planning programme. If cost is the barrier, that route is real and worth using, and no one here will think less of you for taking it.
WhatsApp +91 8087471244 saying whether you want a copper or hormonal device, or that you are not sure yet, and you will get the current charge and the time needed. No payment is taken to book.
In Dr. Kunda’s words
During a contraception consultation, I don’t start with my favorite method, because there shouldn’t be one. I ask what matters to you: your plans for future pregnancies, how you feel about bleeding changes, and what fits your daily life. The best contraceptive decision is the one you completely understand and feel comfortable with.Dr. Kunda Shahane MBBS · MS (Obs & Gynae) · FIFM · FMF (London)
Questions patients ask
Yes. Dr. Kunda Shahane is a woman gynaecologist. She performs the insertion and the removal herself — there is no technician and no male doctor involved at any stage. A female attendant is present in the room if you would like one.
Most women describe strong period-type cramping for about a minute during the insertion, settling to ordinary period pain over the next few hours. It is short, and it is over before most women expect it to be. Eating beforehand and taking a simple painkiller an hour before helps. Tell the doctor if you have never been pregnant or if examinations have been painful for you before, because the approach changes.
Copper devices contain no hormone at all and typically make periods somewhat heavier and more crampy, especially in the first few months. The hormonal system usually makes periods much lighter and is often chosen by women who have heavy bleeding as well as a contraceptive need. Cost differs substantially between them. Which suits you depends on your bleeding pattern, whether you can use a hormone, how long you want cover for, and your budget — which is what the consultation is for.
It depends on the device, and the licensed duration is set for each product rather than for IUDs in general. A copper T 380A is commonly licensed for around ten years, smaller copper devices for about five, and the 52 mg hormonal system for about five. There is published evidence that several devices remain effective beyond their licensed period, but the date that governs your device is the one on its own label. You will be given a removal-due date in writing on the day it is inserted.
Yes. Not having been pregnant is not a reason to be refused an IUD, though insertion can be more uncomfortable and a smaller device is sometimes more suitable. This is one of the commonest pieces of misinformation we correct.
No. Fertility returns as soon as the device is out — there is no waiting period and no run-off, unlike the injectable, where return of fertility can take several months. This is one of the main reasons the IUD suits women spacing pregnancies rather than ending childbearing.
An IUD can be inserted at any point in the cycle once pregnancy has been reasonably excluded. Many clinicians prefer the days during or just after a period because the cervix is a little more open and pregnancy is unlikely, but waiting for a period is not a requirement. A copper device can also be used as emergency contraception if it is fitted within five days.
Yes. A postpartum IUCD can be inserted within about forty-eight hours of a vaginal delivery or at the time of a caesarean section, and a post-abortion device can be fitted at the same sitting as the procedure. Both are part of India’s national family planning programme. Insertion at these times carries a higher chance of the device moving down or coming out, so a follow-up check matters more than usual.
Come and be checked, and use condoms until you have been. Threads that cannot be felt usually mean they have curled up into the cervical canal, which is harmless. Less often the device has come out without being noticed, or has moved. An ultrasound is used to locate the device and confirm its position. Do not try to pull or investigate the threads yourself.
Usually it takes seconds. The threads are grasped and the device comes out with brief cramping. If the threads have retracted, a fine instrument is used to retrieve them, which takes a little longer. A new device can be put in during the same visit if you want to continue.
The device itself does not cause infection. There is a small increase in the risk of pelvic infection in roughly the first month after insertion, and the absolute risk is low. The old belief that IUDs cause infertility comes from a device withdrawn decades ago and does not apply to any device in use today. If you have an untreated sexually transmitted infection, that is treated before an IUD is fitted, not after.
No. Contraception has nothing to do with pregnancy assessment. Separately, and importantly: determination or disclosure of the sex of a fetus is illegal in India under the PCPNDT Act, 1994, and is not done at this centre under any circumstances, by any test, including any ultrasound performed to check the position of a device.
No. Contraception is your decision and the consultation is confidential. Many couples prefer to decide together and are welcome to come together, but consent for a reversible method is yours alone.
References
Related
Written and medically reviewed by Dr. Kunda Shahane, MBBS, MS (Obs & Gynae), FIFM, FMF (London) · Last reviewed: 31 August 2026
Mayflower Clinic, Surdham Complex, Behind Silver Palace Building, 2nd Lane from Panchsheel Square, Opp. Yashwant Stadium, Dhantoli, Nagpur – 440012. Monday–Saturday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM · Sunday closed.
Dr. Kunda Shahane is a woman gynaecologist and does the procedure herself. Bring the date of your last period and details of any previous device.
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