How do I switch from the pill to an IUD?
Last updated September 3, 2026.
Have a hormonal IUD placed 7 days before you stop the pill; a copper IUD can be placed up to 5 days after, because it works immediately. That timing comes from clinical switching guidance built to prevent the contraceptive gap, the interval between methods where pregnancies happen. The hormonal IUD's progestin takes about a week to become fully effective, so the pill runs underneath it as cover. The copper IUD protects from the moment it is placed and can even serve as emergency contraception within 5 days of unprotected sex. Logistics: book the IUD first, keep your pill schedule until the confirmed handoff, and use condoms if dates slip. After a hormonal IUD is placed, irregular spotting for a few months is the common, normal adjustment before periods lighten or stop. The one thing not to do is stop the pill early and plan to "get the IUD soon"; that unprotected interval is the classic failure story.
What to do
- Hormonal IUD: placed 7 days before your last pill.
- Copper IUD: works immediately; can be placed up to 5 days after stopping.
- Book first, stop second: never quit the pill before the IUD appointment exists.
- Condoms bridge slippage: any timing mismatch gets covered, not hoped through.
- Expect spotting: a few months of irregular bleeding after a hormonal IUD is normal.
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