Does taking birth control pills and having mirena have the same efficacy?

Do you mean the same rate of protection against pregnancy? Here’s one page Google gave me. It mentions the pregnancy rate for copper IUDs is between 0.2 to 0.5 percent. This is better than the pill, which has a rate of 1–5 percent. One thing I did see is that IUDs seem to cause a higher chance of ectopic pregnancies (where the egg implants itself in the fallopian tube, and requires surgery to eliminate).

I had a Mirena IUD, and it didn’t hurt to have it inserted. It was uncomfortable, but didn’t hurt. The problem I had with the IUD was having a foreign object inside my body… my body really objected, LOL. I had the IUD for abt 6 months, and the whole 6 months I had terrible cramps, massive headaches and for the last month, my cycle refused to end. I bled for 37 days straight before I finally went in to have the darn thing removed. I don’t recommend it. :)

I have the Mirena for 4 years now. I did experience pain when it was inserted, but it didn’t last very long. Since you gave birth so recently, it may hurt less than it did for me (my ‘baby’ was 14 when I got it) So far, it is the best birth control I’ve used.

However, I do have fibroids that I never had before. But I am overweight and over 40, so who knows whether I might have gotten them anyway.

The efficacy of oral birth control is not only impacted by taking it regularly, but also by other factors, such as if you need to take antibiotics.

I have heard good things about NuvaRing, too… but have not used it myself.

@dynamic duo, it’s not that IUDs increase the rate of ectopic pregnancy, it’s that some of them don’t prevent it as well. Pills prevent ovulation, and if there’s no egg, there’s nothing to fertilize that can stop in the tube. IUDs disrupt sperm function and fertilization. The Mirena secretes progesterone which provides additional protection from pregnancy by thickening the cervical mucus, making it more difficult for sperm to move into the uterus looking for an egg to fertilize.

The theoretical effectiveness of OCPs and IUDs is pretty similar, but in real life, IUDs are more effective because there’s less chance for human error – missing a pill, throwing up a pill, taking another medication that interfers with the pill, etc.