Women are increasingly turning to the intrauterine device, or IUD, as a form of contraception, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published today. Yet it’s widely known that having an IUD inserted can be excruciatingly painful, and few doctors offer effective relief. The anticipation of the pain is “a potential barrier” to expanding access, said Dr. Lauren Zapata, an epidemiologist with the division of reproductive health at the C.D.C.

Roughly 20 percent of women relied on an IUD between 2015 and 2019, up drastically from the 8 percent who used one between 2006 and 2010. But social media platforms are awash with women commiserating over their painful IUD insertions, and sometimes removals. A study published this year that scanned TikTok for the top 100 videos with the hashtag #IUD found that of the videos presenting a patient’s experience, almost all — 97 percent — highlighted the pain of the procedure and other negative side effects.

“I generally always recommend an IUD,” said Dr. Jenny Wu, an author of the TikTok study and a third-year obstetrics and gynecology resident at Duke. “But then I also noticed that a lot of my younger patients, the Gen Z, just don’t want an IUD.” A separate report by the C.D.C., also published today, found that only 6 percent of teenagers have used an IUD, making it among the least prevalent methods for that age group.

There are a handful of effective pain management options for IUD insertion. Yet doctors have rarely discussed or used them, said Dr. Eve Espey, chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department at the University of New Mexico. A survey published this year found that only 4 percent of trained physicians in the United States offered an injection of a local anesthetic, which has been found to be effective for pain relief. And almost 80 percent of trained doctors, the survey showed, offered over-the-counter painkillers, like ibuprofen, which have been shown to be less effective.