“Why Isn’t Mirena Maker Warning Women of Risks?”

Bowling Green, KY“I don’t understand why Bayer, the maker of the Mirena IUD for birth control, doesn’t mention the risk of miscarriage,” says Lindsey. “Women who want to have children must be made aware of Mirena side effects.”

Lindsey, age 28, has a young daughter and wants to have another child soon. But she is scared of having another miscarriage, which she believes was caused by the Mirena, even though Bayer does not mention the risk of miscarriage on its warnings and precautions labeling.

“On my doctor’s advice I had the Mirena in 2007, but it came out twice, and I think my body was rejecting it rather than my doctor not placing the IUD properly,” says Lindsey. “About two years ago, I was bent over in pain from my lower abdomen and wound up in ER. I had x-rays and a doctor told me that I should get the Mirena removed, but there wasn’t an ob/gyn at the hospital so they sent me home with painkillers and told me to follow up with my own doctor. I don’t have insurance so my partner had to pay cash at our local clinic and I got it removed.”

A few months ago, Lindsey found out she was pregnant and went to the health department. “You have to go here first before getting a medical card, which is insurance for low-income families,” Lindsey explains. “I had an ultrasound and a regular sonogram. I knew I was nine weeks pregnant but the baby was only showing four weeks and they couldn’t detect a heartbeat. I was told to wait another week in case I had the wrong dates but that wasn’t the case. I started bleeding bright red blood a few days later and they did another ultrasound. The baby was gone.

Lindsey had a D&C procedure - a treatment for diagnosed miscarriages in the first trimester - the next day. “I asked my doctor if Mirena could have caused me to miscarry and she told me that up to 50 percent of all pregnancies may end in miscarriage,” says Lindsey, crying. Up to 20 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage among women who know they are pregnant. “I know it isn’t the end of the world but too many women have had the same issues with this Mirena. Lindsey thinks that her doctor isn’t going to give her an answer because she is likely still advising her patients to use Mirena as a method of birth control.

“I don’t understand why Bayer, the Mirena manufacturer, isn’t mentioning the risk of miscarriage. Just do a quick online search and it’s amazing how many women have gone through this. Surely Bayer has Googled it. Why doesn’t Bayer have to include Mirena miscarriage?

“I will never have an IUD again. After I had my son, I was told that this IUD was the best method of birth control: that it was fool-proof and there was nothing wrong with it. But it causes more problems than it fixes. I’m getting a pap test next week and my gynecologist is going to check for scar tissue. I asked her if it could be a problem if I try to conceive again. Again, no answers.”