Can I Keep My IUD After Removal? Here's Why Some People Do

Editor's note: Some of the sources for this article requested their full names and locations not be used.

Esmerelda Gennoe, 19, cried as the excruciating cramps pulsated through her. They had begun a year after her intrauterine device (IUD) was fitted in California and continued to appear for the following 12 months. She hugged herself tightly into a ball. The little plastic device that had provided so many benefits was now causing her depression and anxiety—living with the cramps was overwhelming. She made the difficult decision to have the IUD removed, but not without keeping the small device as a keepsake.

"I decided to keep my IUD because it was cool," she laughed. "It was inside of me for about a year and I wanted to frame it."

Gennoe is one of many women who have decided to keep their IUD after its removal. Although it didn't work for her overall, she admitted it's amazing birth control.

"I do find it empowering. I've shown it to a few people," she said.

Why do some people keep their IUD after removal?

The trend of keeping an IUD after removal seems to have started on TikTok, as these unique trends often do, with many users showing off their coils on the #IUD tag.

For most IUD-keepers, the reason for holding on to their contraceptive device after removal is very personal.

"I wanted to make them into earrings," said Jane Howard, 24, from the Midwest. "But then again, I think that would make people super-uncomfortable if I wore them."

She has two IUDs dangling from her pinboard, the brownish wire coiled tightly around the white plastic. It looks not dissimilar to a decayed part of a Happy Meal toy. The irony is that this one stops a child from being created, let alone experiencing a cheeseburger.

Howard said she kept both of these little devices because she is a self-proclaimed "sex ed nerd."

"I love learning about all things related to sexual health," she said. "I want to work as a sex ed educator."

When an IUD is horrible, removal is the only option

Zoë, 25, is one of many uterus-owners who wasn't warned of the effects IUDs can have on the body, and she experienced severe pain when it was fitted.

"I was told it would be a pinch and not the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life. It was extremely traumatic," she said.

This trauma followed her to future OB-GYN appointments, which Zoë found upsetting and difficult to recover from. Having an IUD was a negative experience for Zoë, so negative, in fact, that she had hers removed three years early.

"It was extremely painful all the time, I was constantly afraid it wasn't in place and had a constant feeling of tension in my lower stomach," Zoë said. "I decided to keep it [after removal] because it had caused me such grief and I have a morbid curiosity for things. I also kept it as a reminder to not get another one ever."

When Zoë asked her doctor if she could keep the IUD after removal, it wasn't considered an odd request; the doctor agreed and put it in a sample jar for Zoë to take home with her as if it were a casual party favor. It still sits in Zoë's vanity.

"Occasionally, when I come across it in my drawer, I pick up the jar and look at it, but try not to remind myself too much because I get like phantom pains when I see any IUD videos or discussions," she explained.

While keeping an IUD after removal might not be everyone's cup of tea, it is a reminder for many people of what they went through and how strong they are.

While they are impressive little pieces of plastic, both copper and hormonal IUDs certainly come with both positives and negatives, and keeping them after removal is included in these considerations. For example, the United Nations has stated the importance of disposing of unused or unwanted contraceptives.

"You are not permitted to [keep your IUD]. It is a single-use product and must be disposed of in accordance with the local hospital contaminated waste policy," said Deborah Lee, a doctor who specializes in sexual and reproductive health with Dr Fox Pharmacy in the United Kingdom.

"If anyone took home their IUD/IUS, there would always be the worry of whether the device could fall into the wrong hands, ever be reused, or be disposed of in an irresponsible manner that is not environmentally friendly," she continued.

Each doctor's opinion may vary—possibly leaving patients without the option to keep their IUD after removal, according to health and safety protocols.

Keeping or not keeping an IUD after removal

While keeping an IUD after removal might not be everyone's cup of tea, it is a reminder for many people of what they went through and how strong they are. For them, a used IUD is something not to be grossed out by, but to be admired.

Eight months after Gennoe's IUD was removed, she got pregnant. Now, her IUD lives in a shadow box with her baby's things in her home in Tulare County, California, as a reminder of how vital this device once was in her life.