Women who have a negative perception of intrauterine devices experience the most pain during insertion, according to a study.

Apart from those having a negative view of the device, women who are anxious about the procedure experience more pain, as do women who have previously delivered by caesarean, the researchers report.

Meanwhile women who have previously experienced a vaginal delivery with an epidural report the least pain during intrauterine device (IUD) insertion, they say.

“Anxious women might have had a painful vaginal experience, such as a previous painful examination,” the Turkish authors write in the European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care.