Regarding “The IUD rumor mill: common misconceptions” [November 2015], conception takes place in the fallopian tube near the ovary and then continues its journey to the uterus. The IUD makes the surface of the uterus such that a fertilized ovum cannot attach itself and continue growing and surviving until birth. Therefore, the fertilized ovum cannot survive and is expelled from the mother’s body. In my estimation, this is yet another form of abortion.—JEAN LUCK, LVN, PA, Green Valley Lake, Calif. (208-2)
The LNG-IUS also prevents conception. While the progestin affects the endometrium, making it inhospitable to a fertilized egg, it also thickens the cervical mucous—in the words of a lecturer I heard, “turns it into cement.” Thus, the LNG-IUS also is a barrier method, blocking the entrance of sperm into the uterus.—SUSANNA LEVIN, WHNP, New Rochelle, N.Y. (208-3)
The copper IUD also works by disruption of the endometrium and implantation. A previous commenter stated that it works by preventing fertilization. Both are possible, but neither action is acceptable according to certain belief systems.—NANCY SANDROCK, CNM, Weslaco, Texas (208-1)
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