These cervical photos are from a 25 years old woman who has never given birth. She has a copper Paraguard IUD which was placed inside her uterus about a year ago. This is not a hormonal form of birth control, so she ovulates, which you can tell from the changes in her discharge. You can see the strings of the IUD protruding through the os in the photos. The IUD sometimes causes her occasional cramps or heavier bleeding.
Her cycle has been somewhat erratic since she stopped birth control pills about a year ago. Before she went on birth control pills (sometime in her late teens) she was fairly regular with cycles about every 30 days or so. She has always had normal pap smears.
The notes about each day are below each picture.
Day One
Minor cramps
Moderate flow
Day Two
More bleeding
No cramps
Used a tampon today
Day Three
Used a tampon today
Day Four
Feeling good
Moderate Bleeding
Used a pad today
Day Five
Light Flow
Used a Diva cup
More tired today
Day Six
Spotting
Feeling well
Partner/photographer says cervix is deeper in the vagina today
Day Seven
Minimal spotting
Tired
Day Eight
White/yellow scant discharge with no odor
Day Nine
Feeling well
No discharge
Day Ten
Had sex 10 hours before photo was taken
Day Eleven
Some milky discharge at end of the day
Day Twelve
Slight amount of white discharge
Day Fourteen
Day Fifteen
Day Seventeen
Watery discharge
Day Eighteen
Cervical fluid is eggwhite consistency
Day Nineteen
Cervix appears lower in vagina today
Day Twenty
Day Twenty-One
Day Twenty-Two
Day Twenty-Three
Day Twenty-Four
Day Twenty-Five
Day Twenty-Six
Day Twenty-Seven
A few minutes of very heavy pressure in vagina, some pain, then tingling for about 5 minutes
Day Twenty-Eight
One minute in morning of feeling pressure and crampy like yesterday morning, otherwise normal
Slightly fishy vaginal odor
Day Twenty-Nine
One pang of crampy pain today
Good & Clear picture
Comment by Desy — September 3, 2009 @ 2:08 am
thank you very much for your post. It is very helpful, also. i have one question, i also have on an IUD, i usually feel the stings as soon as my finger gets as far inside, but this month, i feel the string way back as if the cervix turned backwards and the opening is facing my anus instead of the vagina. my question is, is that normal? and sometimes when im having sex i feel as if the cervix gets in the way of the penis. and that usually cause an uneasy feeling. thanks for your time.
Comment by Rosie Dest — September 4, 2009 @ 10:45 am
I had the Para Gard IUD ( for 3 years) This is really WONDERFUL information. Each Time I check the strings(monthly) they were within reach.
With My Husband I could almost feel the strings each time after Sex. I’m also plan on getting another Para Gard in a few weeks.
Thank You for Sharing
Comment by Talisha — September 12, 2009 @ 10:07 pm
I just got an IUD today and this is extremely helpful to me, thank you!!! I can really visualize what I should be checking for now.
Comment by Karen — September 16, 2009 @ 2:19 pm
Ah, so that’s what an implanted IUD looks like. I’ve had mine for two years and I’ve always wondered how it looked. Cervix doesn’t like it though, every now and then I’ll get horrible stabbing pains as if it’s falling out. Ah well, it can deal.
I told my gyno about your website and they were very impressed. Keep up the good work
Comment by scarygirl — September 23, 2009 @ 5:47 am
I also have an IUD placement called maraina. I had this placed after having an exploratory laporoscopy searching for the cause of my extreme contraction like pain. Nothing was found so they just placed my IUD and I went on with my life. A couple weeks after my surgery the mysterious pain has returned. my obgyn doctor says my pain very closely resembles contractions which is very odd seeing as I am 20 and have never been pregnant. I still have breakthrough bleeding as well. This project makes me wonder if I could “give birth” to my IUD through my “fake contractions”?
Comment by mm — September 28, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
I’m 27 and I have the mirena IUD, I’ve had it for just over 4 years now. My monthly periods are so scant that I could wear a panty liner for the whole day and that would be the end of it for that month. It doesn’t come regularly like it would if you were on the pill and I do feel a lot more cramping and mood swings around that time of the month. When I first looked into this IUD it said the benefits were light menstral cycles, decreased cramping and low hormones put into your body. I’ve also found that I have more hair growth in areas that I didn’t have before. Example on my chest just between my breasts there is a small darker area of hair growing a bit longer than normal and a few on my chin. I should be getting the IUD out next year as it is supposed to last 5 years. My doctor told me once I notice my periods becoming heavier the hormone is wearing off and the it’s almost time to take it out. About fake contractions, I had those when I did a trial on the Birth control patch just before I got my IUD. I’m not sure if this form of birth control is still out but I would wake up in the middle of the night and each night I would have sexual dreams and would wake up just before orgasming in my dream and have what my mom though sounded like contractions. I would wake up screaming but eventually it would go away…needless to say the patch didn’t work out.
Comment by megan — September 30, 2009 @ 9:58 pm
yes i had para guard IUD inserted in me and i missed my period. early this year and had it removed. i only use condoms now.
Comment by lisa — October 3, 2009 @ 12:01 am
Hi ..Im a 52 year old woman who had a minera iud put in a year ago..at the three month check up she said my strings had went inside she said lots of womens do this…when it was inserted i had extreme pain and a blood pressure reaction…low…low ..low she said i scared her…she said i had scar tissue on my cervix..i wonder when i get it removed how it will be done with no strings showing…also since insertion my face is broken and and i have a strange taste in my mouth…could these be from the iud….she says no to all …the dr…ty
Comment by michelle — October 14, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
JUST TO LET ANYONE KNOW THAT I WENT TO THE DOCTOR THIS PAST THURSDAY (10-23) . I HAD THE IUD TAKEN OUT AND A CHECK UP . IT WENT GREAT EXCEPT THAT THE STRING FOR THE IUD WAS UP IN MY CERVIX AND HAD TO HAVE IT TAKEN OUT .
Comment by Tara — October 26, 2009 @ 12:37 pm
Wanted to thank everyone for sharing their stories but to also remind everyone that people have such different experiences with all forms of birth control. I personally appreciate the IUD a great deal and would suggest that anyone interested in exploring this option to ask their physician about it. (I do get minor cramps but for me, they’re bearable with ibuprofen.) IUDs are fine for women who haven’t had children and for younger women – this is a misconception that many physicians share. (There’s now much literature about this.)
Comment by S. — October 27, 2009 @ 6:45 am
Wow, thankyou soooo much for the day by day pictures. Totally helps us ladies out here.
I had Paragard inserted 4 days ago. So, far so good. Day of insertion, no cramps, no heavy bleeding, and didn’t feel a thing.
Comment by IUD74 — November 1, 2009 @ 1:50 pm
I’ve have a Paraguard IUD for 3 years now, and I love it. The strings are a little too far up for me to feel them, but my OBGYN says everything is okay. I love the Paraguard, and I love knowing what it looks like inside my vagina now! Thanks for the photos, and the website in general!
Comment by Heather — November 19, 2009 @ 12:14 pm
i have the mirena iud for a yr now, since insertion it has been UTI’s, trich, cervititis, vaginitis, and one bacterial infection after another. Doctor says iud makes my body more suceptible.. i enjoy the very light periods with the iud but i cant seem to get rid of the bacterial infections, my partner shows no symptoms and im wondering if i cant get completly treated and cured.. will it lead to infertility? ironically a permanent form of birth control due to another long term method…
Comment by sara — November 23, 2009 @ 2:49 am
Amazing!
Comment by Nichole — November 24, 2009 @ 8:43 pm
Thank you for the pictures. I’m in nurse practitioner school and we practiced on models & 1 live volunteer. Didn’t get to see much in the 5 minutes we had to look. This was so helpful. I feel more confident about performing pelvic exams now.
Comment by Nicole — December 11, 2009 @ 1:03 am
This website was extremely helpful to not only see clear pix of wats going on inside there but in reading others expierence, Im currently researching weither or not i want to do it, I’m 25 and dont want kids til I’m truly ready financially and mentally, and this website answered all my questions and concerns, so thank you!
Comment by Jen — January 19, 2010 @ 10:15 am
Thank you so much, I am a 29 year old woman. I have had mirena for almost a year and a half now with no noticable side effects aside from longer lighter cycles. I think this is amazing and incredibly helpful on so many levels.
Comment by Melissa — January 25, 2010 @ 12:00 am
I just want to tell you a big thank-you! I just had an IUD put in 2 days ago and I’d never felt my cervix or had any idea what the darn thing looked like. Your website is greatly educational. I know now what the heck I’m supposed to feel for!
Comment by Dominique — February 19, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
This is such a helpful site. For some reason seeing the discharge is gross to me but I need to get a grip.
I’ve had a Paragard since 2004 and this year I can feel the strings a lot lower than before. I wonder at what point does a lowering cervix become a possible prolapsed uterus? I always worry mine will fall out completely. I do Kegels and I have a Kegelmaster but I don’t use it as much as I should because i have a fear of grabbing the strings and pulling out the IUD.
Is it normal to think so much about your reproductive organs? Apparently I’m not alone because people here have actually taken pictures. At least I know I’m not as weird as I thought I was in that aspect.
Comment by Aimee — February 23, 2010 @ 10:00 am
Thanks for the pictures! I had a copper T inserted almost a week ago and have had minor cramps, but it seems to have made my period start early. When I feel for the string my cervix is hard and round – is it supposed to be that way?
Comment by Gail — March 2, 2010 @ 11:22 pm
These pictures are great. I had Mirena inserted in DEC 07. I had to have it surgically removed in AUG 09 because it porferated my uterus and was in my abdomen!! It was the most horrible experience ever. Not so much the pain, as the whole ordeal of getting a dr to believe me when I told them that the IUD was still in my body even though I had an ultrasound done and they did not see it in my uterus so they told me that it came out and I flushed it. I know a few months after having it put in that something wasn’t right…it took me almost 2 years to get them to listen to me and finally semd me for an xray to find the damned thing. I know that this is just my experience….but I did want to share it.
Comment by Misty — March 6, 2010 @ 12:32 pm
Thank you for posting this–very helpful! I had a Paragard IUD placed a couple weeks ago and my cervix is too far back for me or my partner to feel for the strings. So instead, I just bought a speculum from Amazon and will have to start doing a visual exam to make sure the strings are still there & the right length. It’s nice to know how it ought to look!
Comment by Kami — April 15, 2010 @ 11:57 pm
These photos were really helpful. I just had a paragard inserted this morning and did a self-exam with a speculum and mirror. I was worried that the speculum may have pulled on the strings because when I used my finger I felt one but after looking inside I saw two. After seeing these pictures, I’m less worried about the speculum pulling the strings and now know that the strings move around and what I saw was normal. Thanks for posting these.
Comment by Joanne — April 22, 2010 @ 1:39 pm
I had gone to have my IUD removed and they weren’t successful. They only pulled out the strings without the IUD coming out. I am scheduled to see another doctor to have my IUD removed without the strings. What does this mean? Help!!!
Comment by Phyllis — May 12, 2010 @ 12:39 pm
I had no IUD.
Comment by Priya Anjali Rai — June 3, 2010 @ 12:30 am
Very wonderful photos! I am so grateful that you took the time to document this for all to see. I have had a paraguard for a few months and I am worried that I can feel the hard IUD protruding slightly, and now I will have a reference when I look w/ a speculum to find out if it really is. Thanks again for making this available!
Comment by laurie — June 6, 2010 @ 12:34 am
I am 28 yrs old, married, never pregnant. I got the copper T 1 year ago. I love to be worry free of getting an unplanned pregnancy. Lately, I have gotten my period twice a month, more cramps, spotting and less intercourse; because I am scared of pain. I have scheduled for my pap smear. Thanks, these are:”Fabulous Pictures”, but still I find myself afraid of doing a self-examination!!! I scheduled for my pap smear.
Comment by Lezty — June 8, 2010 @ 2:20 am
Thank you so much for posting these photos. I am on my first week of an IUD, and when feeling for the strings for the first time, I realized, I don’t even know what my anatomy down there should feel like, let alone what it looks like. This makes what I have felt so much more clear to me.
Thank you again.
Comment by shelly — June 11, 2010 @ 11:27 pm
These pictures are great I got my iud 3 weeks ago but my problem is I can’t feel the strings what am I suppose to look for? Help
Comment by 3 lil daisy — June 20, 2010 @ 2:22 am
I am a mother of 5 and I had enough children so I got an IUD put in, the plastic kind, that’s when I found out I had a herniated cervix. I can’t find any info on it but I guess it’s from having a LEEP done before my last baby and having to push through the scar tissue. When I got the IUD put in my uterus was barely small enough and my first period was over 7 days long and very heavy! After that nothing was normal cause I have a teen who started menstrating and throwing my schedual off so I’m not sure what is supposed to be normal. Good luck! and thanks for the info!
Comment by Rebecca Quiriarte — June 29, 2010 @ 2:12 pm
I just had my mirena removed by surgery. My big issue is what are they trying to hide. Is anyone else having this problem that if its surgically removed the Doctor will refused to take it out of your body unless you agree to let them keep it. My Dr. refused to even hold onto it until I woke up, so I could see it and make sure all parts are there. I wanted to do this because I had 4 scans to find it and I was told by I Dr. strings missing, next Dr. said he found them but they were in 2 diff places, next Dr. said strings were curled up around the mirena inside my uterus, Then the Dr. that did surgery told me that it was fully intact. HOW THE HECK DO I TRUS. ARE THEY HIDING SOMETHING. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT I CAN DO TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH. IS THIS HAPPENING TO OTHERS PLEASE LET ME KNOW PLEASE I AM SO UPSET. MacD51@live.com
I am stressing out so bad any idea’s ladies please.
Comment by Sharon MacDonald — July 6, 2010 @ 10:40 pm
[...] clarification about (I think) the difference between the vagina and the uterus. We talked about the cervix and how in TV shows when someone is in labor and they say “she’s dilated to three [...]
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