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t m c » p u l s e | m a r c h 2 0 1 7 13 CITY PARK 1,462 - 2,600 SF MODEL HOME: 12102 Paseo Place Houston, TX 77047 MINUTES from the MEDICAL CENTER, RELIANT CENTER and the GALLERIA AREA! Call our Online Sales Counselor at 281-853-8418 for more information or to make an appointment! drhorton.com/houston Why rent when you can own? Prices, plans, features, options and co-broke are subject to change without notice. Additional restrictions may apply. Square footages are approximate. Move-In Package with home purchase! Mention this ad to receive a From the $190s pregnancy for at least three and up to 10 years. IUDs are T-shaped devices inserted into the uterus. Copper IUDs, like ParaGard, do not have any hor- monal medication in them, while IUDs like Mirena, Skyla and Liletta do. The first way IUDs work is by preventing sperm from meeting an egg. The copper IUD releases copper ions, which essentially work as a spermicide. Hormonal IUDs release progestin, which increases production of cervical mucus. This essentially works as a barrier method, making it more difficult for sperm to pass through the cervical canal. "If you have a really determined sperm that man- ages to make it all the way through anyway, because that T is sitting there, it also makes it more difficult for the sperm to move throughout the uterus and enter the fallopian tubes, where eggs are normally fertil- ized," said Jennifer Bump, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine. "If both of those mechanisms fail and the sperm manages to fertilize an egg, it also makes it diffi- cult for the egg to implant into the uterine lining." IUD failure rates are under one percent, which is comparable to both male and female sterilization, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While insurance providers are mandated under the ACA to offer coverage for contraceptives, the IUD is a cost-effective and long-lasting choice. If that mandate is eliminated, the price of an IUD would be prohibitively expensive for many women. "The IUD is a big upfront cost. It's less expensive overall if you use it the full five or 10 years, but a lot of women can't afford to pay $900 all at once," Bump said. "They could afford a $30-dollar a month pill, but it's more prone to error. It's something you have to physically do every day." The proposed dismantling of the ACA is adding a lot of stress to a decision providers say should be based on a patient's lifestyle and health history rather than finances and accessibility. And even greater than the full cost of an IUD is the price of an unplanned pregnancy, the rate of which has dropped in the years since contraceptive coverage was expanded, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that advances sexual and reproductive health rights. "Looked at from solely a cost perspective, it's much more expensive for us as a society to pay for uninsured women to have babies than it is to pay for birth con- trol," Bump said. An increase in IUD implantation is not necessar- ily a bad thing, Thomas noted, given their safety and effectiveness. The emotional toll health coverage turmoil has on women, however, is concerning for the health care providers who counsel them. "I worry because patients seem to have this level of anxiety and fear that I've not seen before," Thomas said. "They're just really worried they're not going to have access." I worry because patients seem to have this level of anxiety and fear that I've not seen before. They're just really worried they're not going to have access. — LAURA THOMAS, R.N. WHNP Senior director of clinical services at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast