Guidelines for having a contraceptive IUD fitted will not include extra painkilling options, the Dutch association of family doctors NHG has said.

Patient organisation Stichting Ava had called on the NHG to include more options because the procedure can be “extremely painful” for some women.

Currently, women who have an IUD fitted are advised to take two paracetamol or 500mg of naproxen ahead of the procedure.

According to Stichting Ava, pain has been normalised in the Netherlands. In the United States, doctors have been told they can use localised painkilling methods, such as gels or sprays but in 2023 the NHG said proof of their efficiency was lacking.

However, Dutch research has shown that painkilling gel can help. “If more of this research appears we may change the guidelines but for now we see no reason to,” a spokesman at the NHG told broadcaster NOS.