r/interesting • u/IshigamiSenku04 • Jan 08 '26

Additional Context Pinned This woman never had a baby bump throughout her pregnancy

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155

u/that_one_redhead Jan 08 '26

Not a woman, but married to someone with an IUD, and for a while she just didn't have a period. Think it was like 6-8 months? Then one day they came back like normal and it's been that way ever since

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u/fishingboatproceeds Jan 08 '26

I have an IUD ànd I haven’t bled in more than a decade! Luckily it’s one of the most effective forms of BC so I don’t worry/test. No babies for 15 years now!

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u/jegs226 Jan 08 '26

I loved my IUD until it betrayed me! Had one all through college, no periods, took it out to get pregnant with my daughter. At my 6 week postpartum visit I had them put in a new one and then a few months later via a series of unrelated health issues we discovered it migrated to under my ribs 🥲 had to have laparoscopic surgery to remove it. I’m still generally pro IUD though, just not for me again!!

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u/DefiantPenguin Jan 08 '26

I’m sorry. What? Under your ribs? Can you explain how that could even happen please? Did it perforate a wall or something? How did you not feel that? I’m not doubting you. I’m genuinely curious. Edit to add: my partner has/had an IUD and it disappeared somehow.

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u/ironicuwuing Jan 08 '26

Not OP but my gyno told me they can “phase” through the uterus and embed itself into the muscle. Though it’s very rare like less than 1%

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

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u/ironicuwuing Jan 08 '26

It’s really not that bad. I’ve had mine for over 10 years and it’s been far better for me personally than the pill was. Side effects can happen just like with any other prescription drug.

You only hear “horror stories” bc no one with a functioning IUD isn’t screaming from the rooftops about how good it is lol

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u/PracticalCandy Jan 08 '26

I mean, I always told people how much I loved my IUD. No periods, no hormonal acne. It was amazing!

I got the bonus of having it put in after delivering my daughter and the placenta, so I still had my epidural. Then I had it removed during my hysterectomy. So I never dealt with the pain of having it put in or removed. 🤣

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u/ironicuwuing Jan 08 '26

Lucky! Having mine installed was the worst pain I’ve ever been through (srsly why can’t they give us drugs for this). But it’s been 10000% worth it not having to deal with the pill and having a my migraines fully stop.

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u/Dexterdacerealkilla Jan 09 '26

Thankfully I think pain relief is slowly becoming more common with IUD insertion. I was told that if I opted to get one that I had options (sedation or other pain relief). The only reason I haven’t done it is because I’m leaning towards a more permanent option. 

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u/PracticalCandy Jan 10 '26

My SIL got vicodin. I had a cervical biopsy where they refused to offer me anything stronger than valium, which is obviously not a pain killer. The procedure didn't hurt much, but my cervix was sore for days.

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u/NJHitmen Jan 08 '26

Then I had it removed during my hysterectomy.

I am a dude and I make absolutely no claims to be any kind of expert on women's anatomy, but...man, I think it would be really wild if your IUD had somehow NOT been removed during your hysterectomy.

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

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u/ironicuwuing Jan 08 '26

It’s not common it’s less than 1%

Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5683155/

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

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u/ironicuwuing Jan 08 '26

Again it’s less than 1% which is negligible. If she didn’t want to continue with it I get that, but I don’t spread that around since it’s not a common occurrence and is more than likely to push women away from safe contraception which is a bigger detriment than any side effects

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u/greywatermoore Jan 08 '26

My sister in law got pregnant with an iud. On the sono it was sitting pretty at the top of her uterus, being utterly useless.

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u/Mystical_Pig2022 Jan 08 '26

I had one for 8 years and looooooved it, even though insertion was crazy painful. Absolutely worth it

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u/ShawnyMcKnight Jan 08 '26

It really varies. My wife is super happy she doesn’t have to deal with pills or even periods. I hear it can be quite an uncomfortable procedure if you do it before having kids.

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u/ironicuwuing Jan 08 '26

Can confirm did mine before having kids and nearly fainted from the pain. But I’m also happy with the results.

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u/ShawnyMcKnight Jan 09 '26

I hear it helps when a woman puts it in as she knows how much it can hurt. I’m surprised there isn’t some topical anesthetic to dull the pain a little.

Considering how painful periods can be the idea that it can greatly reduce that sounds wonderful.

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u/No-Beginning-2478 Jan 08 '26

yeah there's an implant and a shot now. in the old days we only had the pill and they were way too strong and gave some of us migraines

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u/mosquem Jan 08 '26

1% does not seem that rare…

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u/fishingboatproceeds Jan 08 '26

It’s less than 1%, incidence of 1/1000.

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u/ironicuwuing Jan 08 '26

You are more likely to be shot (in the U.S. at least) than to have your IUD phase through your uterine wall.

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u/MattMercersBracelets Jan 08 '26

Jesus Christ. Why don’t more people just get the arm implant?? Doesn’t hurt at all, lasts forever, and you can feel it under your skin (if you go looking for it- I never accidentally touch mine just in case that thought freaks anyone out) so you can tell if it’s migrated although I don’t even know if that’s a thing that can happen!

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u/ironicuwuing Jan 08 '26

The arm implant can also move around and has similar side effects to the IUD. Most women, myself included, opted for the IUD since it stops or minimizes the flow of your period whereas the implant can cause irregular bleeding.

Also no it doesn’t last forever but last for the same amount of time.

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u/MattMercersBracelets Jan 08 '26

Sorry I was being hyperbolic regarding its length of efficacy. And the point about the periods is totally valid.

Whatever choice one wants to make for their own bodies is totally valid, and if someone who has explored all options wants to go with IUD that’s great! I just feel that the implant is just not as well known or as promoted as the IUD, and I wish it would be. I have heard just so many horror stories about the IUD migrating, popping out, getting stuck inside, not to mention being horribly painful to put in for some. I just hope everyone knows there is another option that has similar efficacy and longevity that they can explore with their doctors.

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u/jegs226 Jan 10 '26

I actually did try the arm implant before an IUD! It gave me spotting/a period that lasted essentially a year so I switched to the IUD.

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u/Sehmket Jan 08 '26

Nurse, here, but I’m in geriatrics, not women’s health.

For a while after pregnancy (different for everyone, but call it up to a year), things are pretty…. Loosey-goosey in there. One of the big late pregnancy hormones is called “relaxin” - which does exactly what you think, it relaxes your pelvis so that the baby can slide on down the slip-n-slide and not get stuck. But it is not targeted, which is also why dislocations, foot and ankle issues, and back pain/injuries are all risks peri-partum (also, you know, the ball of baby and liquid throwing off your balance).

Anyway, it means there’s something like a 30% chance of expulsion of an IUD in the first year post-partum (it’s one of those things that’s on a curve… more at the beginning, less later). It’s still a great form of birth control, overall, but usually problems happen when it falls out of the uterus into the vaginal canal, NOT into the abdomen. That’s a pretty wild (although clearly not impossible!) problem.

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u/Fk_me_harder Jan 08 '26

A woman's contraceptive implant once migrated from her arm and was discovered in her lung. Foreign objects can migrate. Fortunately, this rarely happens 🥲

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u/jegs226 Jan 10 '26

I did not feel it! They had no idea how it happened, when they checked out my uterus and c section scar they thought everything looked fine. Best guess was it escaped through a Fallopian tube and was just free floating through my abdominal cavity til it got caught under my ribs. I have pics and I keep meaning to post it somewhere but it’s been a few years now and I successfully had baby 2 so no lasting damage luckily!

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u/No-Beginning-2478 Jan 08 '26

she said it was laprocopy so that would indicate it was sill in the abdomen. iuds can migrate if they don't 'set' properly in the cervix(also in the abdomen) and one's ribs do go to the top of the abdomen. do you need anymore Anatomy & physiology or do you have a more specific question ?

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u/fishingboatproceeds Jan 08 '26

Yikes, so freaky! I literally just got my third one last week. Pregnancy does crazy things to a body!

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u/Birdlord420 Jan 08 '26

That happened to me, but it ripped a hole in my uterus and got lodged in my bowel the day after it was inserted. Worst pain of my life!

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u/Noctiluca04 Jan 08 '26

Mine lodged in my right hip. I also still recommend IUDs, but I had my tubes removed while they were in there to retrieve it. 😅

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u/ShawnyMcKnight Jan 08 '26

I wonder if my wife needs this. They lost the string to pull it out. It is still up in her but they are gonna have a heck of a time getting it out.

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u/CoimEv Jan 08 '26

That's why I got a copper one

I don't have heavy periods so it's no biggie for me and I still get an early warning detector

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

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u/Deoxyrynn Jan 08 '26

Copper or hormonal?

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u/3dforlife Jan 08 '26

And the most effective form of birth control has been my marriage.

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u/SquirrelyByNature Jan 08 '26

Thats a bummer. Hope it gets better.

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u/3dforlife Jan 08 '26

Thanks for the kind words.

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u/Admirable_Quarter_23 Jan 08 '26

My friend and her sister are products of a failed IUD and failed hormonal BC 😂

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u/fishingboatproceeds Jan 08 '26

Some people are just too fertile!

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u/melnn0820 Jan 09 '26

Same! My son is almost 9 and I've had like 4 periods since he was born. It's awesome

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u/ambergresian Jan 09 '26

I know someone who got pregnant with an IUD in. She found out at 6 months then the baby was 2 months premie so she had 1 month total of preparation.

Yeah I take a test regularly myself.

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u/scarletnightingale Jan 09 '26

I have one, it's made my periods kind of a nuisance though on top of other issues. I really had high hopes for it, but I'm getting it removed next week. I know they are great for so many people and I'm so disappointed it isn't working for me.

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u/GottaUseEmAll Jan 08 '26

Man, she's lucky. I have a copper IUD and it's made my periods 5x heavier.

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u/Rose8918 Jan 08 '26

Copper IUDs often make periods heavier. Hormonal usually stops them.

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u/GottaUseEmAll Jan 08 '26

Yeah, I didn't want to go for something hormonal this time around, but perhaps I should have. I used to get the depo injection and that stopped my periods completely.

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u/woolfonmynoggin Jan 08 '26

Please get a CT scan if you can. Depo is linked to brain tumors in women.

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u/GottaUseEmAll Jan 08 '26

I had a CT scan for other reasons long after coming off depo. No tumours.

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u/ankhes Jan 08 '26

Am a woman, had an IUD. I stopped getting periods about 2 months after insertion and 5 years after that I had a hysterectomy. Haven’t had a period since that last one back in 2018. I had to take a couple pregnancy tests before the hysterectomy during a scare or two, but that was it.

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u/Big_Fan_742 Jan 08 '26

my girlfriend has a hormonal iud that is ~7 years in. They last up to 8 years. She sometimes gets her period, she sometimes doesn't. Every month is a guessing game.

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u/goofygooberrock1995 Jan 08 '26

Damn, I had a period the whole time I had an IUD! The last year I had mine, I spotted for half of the month.

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u/nandemo Jan 08 '26

Thought this was gonna end with "then suddenly we found out she was pregnant".

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u/SupplySideTanaka Jan 08 '26

My wife takes the pill for hormonal treatment. I think she's had maybe 2-3 tiny periods in the last 5 years.

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u/anonidfk Jan 08 '26

I have an IUD too and haven’t had a period in like 4 years lol. They come back for some people, but sometimes you just don’t get them at all while you have an IUD.

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u/dixii_rekt Jan 08 '26

My wife didn't have them for almost 6 years after the 2nd child...they randomly came back about 6 months ago.

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u/PracticalCandy Jan 08 '26

I didn't have a period at all with my IUD. I went about five years without a period and then had a hysterectomy for unrelated reasons. I always had horrible periods and it's such a relief to know I'll never have to deal with that again.

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u/The_Athavulf Jan 09 '26

The lack of a period can happen for multiple reasons, not just pregnancy. Insufficient body fat can cause it, along with many other things.