Caption

Female contraception. General practice nurse using a model of the uterus to show a woman how an intra-uterine device (IUD, lower centre) is placed inside the uterus. It does not stop fertilisation of an egg (conception), or the transmission of diseases. Instead, it stops the implantation of a fertilised egg in the lining of the uterus. Any egg that may have been fertilised will then die, and be lost with the uterine lining as part of the normal menstrual cycle. A piece of string (not seen) will remain in the vagina to aid removal of the IUD. This can be a path of possible infection of the uterus by vaginal bacteria. Other side-effects include uterine bleeding.