Infection among Women using Intrauterine Devices and Oral Contraceptives

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationship between vaginal douching practices and genitourinary infection in women, aged 18-49, who use an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) or oral contraceptives (OCP). This study was planned and applied as a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study was conducted at Mother and Child Health and Family Planning Center of El-Basher Hospital Amman Jordon. The study was conducted with 185 consenting women (90 using OCP, 90 using IUCD). Since the number of women using condoms was minimal, these were excluded from the study. 10 months at 2009 over the period of the study. No inclusion criteria were taken into consideration aside from age, having used the same method in the last 4 years, and not menstruating at the time samples were to be taken. It was found that women taking OCP who practiced vaginal douching (VD) had higher ratios of bacteria growth in the urine compared to women with IUCD. While there was a significant relationship seen between the method used and the urine culture results (Χ2=5.045 df =1 p=0.01), no relationship was observed in terms of the vaginal culture (Χ2=0.631 df=1 p=0.264). The conclusion of the study was that the development of genitourinary infection during the use of OCP or IUCD was associated more with lack of proper hygiene rather than with the practice of vaginal douching.