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We need to bring the sex back into birth control, said Larry Swiader, senior director of digital media at Bedsider, an online educational resource on birth control operated by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Sex is better and healthier when you have the peace of mind about the birth control youre using.

Swiader criticized the predominantly scientific approach to birth control marketing in the past few years as counter to what women find most relatable when choosing an optimal contraceptive. The intrauterine device, or IUD, in particular has come into focus recently as a method in need of better promotion. In February, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National Center for Health Statistics released a data brief concerning the use of long acting reversible contraceptives, such as the IUD and implant. The study found a five-fold increase in the use of these methods among women ages 15 to 44 over the last decade, with IUD use increasing 83 percent from 2006-2010 to 2011-2013. Swiader said there has also been a notable increase in visitation to the IUD and implant pages on the Bedsider website. Im able to report that the IUD and the implant are visited more now than when we launched the site in November 2011, he said.

A June 2014 Time magazine article praised the IUD, deeming it the best method of birth control on the market for sexually active women. The IUD is a small T-shaped rod inserted into the uterus by a trained healthcare provider. Once inserted, the IUD creates a hostile environment for sperm, making it hard to fertilize an egg.

The IUD is more effective than birth control pills one out of 100 women will get pregnant each year while using the IUD, while six to 12 out of 100 women will get pregnant while using the pill, according to the CDC. The greater effectiveness of the IUD stems partly from the fact that there is no need to remember to do something daily or before intercourse. And no need to buy refills each month, wrote Melissa Nothnagle, associate professor of family medicine and a director of the womens reproductive health concentration at the Alpert Medical School, in an email to The Herald.

Though highly effective and requiring minimal attention, the IUD remains uncommon compared to other forms of contraception, such as the birth control pill and condoms, with 6.4 percent of American women ages 15 to 44 using an IUD between 2011 and 2013.

The Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council hosted a workshop Monday evening entitled, Plan A, B or C: Do You Have an Option? (Access to Contraceptives), as a part of its Sex Week programming. Student feedback from the workshop revealed that women on campus believe their birth control options at Brown are limited.

Students at the workshop discussed the challenges they face when accessing sexual health resources and appraising reproductive health options. Many attendees said they were aware Health Services and BWell Health Promotion provided condoms and emergency contraception but not any other methods of birth control. In fact, students can obtain birth control pills, dental dams, the Ortho Evra patch, the Depo-Provera shot, the NuvaRing and spermidical foams and jellies at Health Services.These resource and knowledge barriers may explain why the IUD also remains uncommon among women at Brown.

Attempts at access

The students in attendance drafted a list of recommendations for BWell Health Promotion and Health Services to increase access to sexual health resources at Brown. The list highlights students desires to have more agency in choosing contraceptives. One barrier to this choice is that Health Services will not insert an IUD, though it will refer women to local providers.

Ardra Hren 15 said her attempt to obtain an IUD was a huge ordeal. Hren conducted her own research and visited a Planned Parenthood in Providence to have it inserted, she said.

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Breaking down barriers to the IUD