Jessica never had the opportunity to plan her pregnancies. On pill or IUD, she chained them in spite of herself, and now wants to undergo tubal ligation. Against a backdrop of improbability and hyper-fertility, his journey was more than atypical and deserved to be shared. Testimony.
“When I was younger I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and according to the doctors, I will definitely have a hard time getting pregnant. In order to regulate my cycles, I started taking the pill and six months later, surprise: I got pregnant. I was only 20 years old. The second and third time, I was also on the pill and therefore completely lost confidence in this method of contraception. In 2019, even after taking the extra morning-after pill, I got pregnant a fourth time. At this time of my life, it was not at all the time to have another child, so I had a medical abortion and decided to have an IUD inserted.
Also read: "I am a mom and I had an abortion, you don't have to judge me"
I had been assured that the IUD was more effective, yet, nine months after having it inserted, I began to notice some symptoms of pregnancy. Nausea, tender breasts … Five days before the start of my period, I took a dipstick pregnancy test. This was very weakly positive, but I didn't really need confirmation, deep down I knew I was pregnant again. Stress and questions came over me. This pregnancy was once again unplanned and I still had my IUD, how was it going to be? I often make the mistake of consulting the Internet to answer my questions and there, I learned that some pregnancies come to term with an IUD, but others do not …
Read also: Am I pregnant? Learn all about the symptoms of implantation
The IUD, a time bomb in the stomach
I first went to see my GP, who ordered a blood test and sent me to the emergency room. We needed to know if the IUD had migrated and if I was not having an ectopic pregnancy. There, I was given an endovaginal ultrasound, which turned out nothing. Neither the IUD nor the pregnancy was visible because it was too early. I was asked to come back a fortnight later, or earlier if I noticed any bleeding or localized pain. Fifteen days later, my pregnancy was confirmed, but the IUD could not be found. In order to locate it, I was offered to perform an abdominal X-ray, while warning me that this examination posed risks for the fetus. I heard the tiny beating of his heart… No radio so I didn't want to take any chances.
Two weeks passed and the famous IUD could finally be found thanks to an abdominal ultrasound. He had not moved, but was obviously no longer having any contraceptive effect. It was more than unlikely! I had only had it nine months and it normally needs to be changed every five years. Besides, he was a Gynelle, the best there was, on the face of it.
To read also: Testimonial: “I got pregnant with an IUD”
Keeping an IUD when you are pregnant exposes many complications, such as miscarriage, placental infections, or an early cervix, among others. I was relieved when my midwife managed to remove it without difficulty.
The only explanation given to me for this umpteenth contraceptive failure is that the IUD must have lost its effectiveness because of the anti-inflammatory drugs that I take regularly, due to migraines. However, I was not warned of this possibility during the installation.
Are natural contraceptive methods effective?
<! –
->
Keep that fourth baby anyway
The news of my third pregnancy was not very well received by my family, especially my parents, and especially my mother. Concerned about my health, they also pointed out to me that the timing was not right, as I did not have the right situation to welcome a third child. When I discovered my fourth pregnancy, I was not only stressed about whether it was viable because of my IUD, but also because of the reaction of my loved ones. I was going to have to tell them again that I was expecting an unexpected child, I thought they weren't going to believe me, it was too big.
With the dad, we had just moved to a new apartment, to make a fresh start and start a new life, the news of this pregnancy was not easy for him to take. However, my baby was developing well, the rates were good, as were the ultrasounds, so I decided to keep him. I am now 5 months pregnant and my baby girl is scheduled for May 18, 2021.
Tubal ligation as a last option
Getting pregnant for the fourth time on contraception was the last straw. I'm very fertile, that's a fact, but at 35 I still thought it was going to subside. No contraceptive method is really 100% effective for me it seems to me, which is why after I gave birth, I made the decision to take it to the next level and have my tubes tied. This is still a very controversial subject and a lot of people tell me that I am too young to do it. However, after four pregnancies, which have developed as a result of contraceptive failures, I think it's really time to think about it.
I haven't spoken to my midwife or gynecologist yet, I hope they will agree to do so. I can understand how extreme it might sound when a very young, childless woman asks for it, but it's also proof that we don't have the full right to do what we want with our bodies. I will be almost 37 when I give birth and I don't want to have any more children. In today's world, I think four is already a lot. I wanted to be a mom, of course, but not so early and maybe not four times. "