Confirming placement with sonograms.

• Position: IUDs - Brief article

A retrospective study of women who became pregnant while using intrauterine devices shows that more than half of the IUDs were malpositioned. Though the displacement may have occurred over time, an obstetrician suggests that routine sonograms after IUD placement would in the least confirm proper initial positioning.

"Gynecologists typically do a pelvic and speculum exam after placing an IUD, but there's no sonogram involved," notes Elysia Moschos, lead author of the study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. "Based on the results of our study, we believe that sonographic evaluation of IUDs after insertion and for surveillance should be a topic of ongoing considerations."

Moschos indicates that obstetricians and gynecologists should consider sonograms as part of the protocol after IUD insertion and possibly schedule them annually for those with IUDs, which can remain in the body for up to 10 years. IUDs are...