• Most women can use IUDs safely and effectively, including women who:
• Have or have not had children
• Are not married
• Are of any age, including adolescents and women over 40 years old
• Have just had an abortion or miscarriage (if no evidence of infection)
• Are breastfeeding
• Do hard physical work
• Have had ectopic pregnancy
• Have had pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• Have vaginal infections
• Have anemia
• Are infected with HIV or on antiretroviral therapy and doing well (see IUDs for Women With HIV, p. 138)

Women can begin using IUDs:

• Without STI testing
• Without an HIV test
• Without any blood tests or other routine laboratory tests
• Without cervical cancer screening
• Without a breast examination

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