IUDs are painful to get. This new invention is a game-changer.

A new medical device coming the United States could be a game-changer for some women’s health procedures, such as IUD insertion.

Carevix is the world’s first suction-based cervical stabilizer, designed to replace the century-old tenaculum, a sharp-toothed forceps widely used in women’s health interventions. Carevix, which was named one of the best inventions of 2024 by TIME Magazine, is now available to medical providers in Southern California and New York. The device is set to rollout across the country starting early 2026.

As women increasingly turn to intrauterine devices (IUD) as a means of long-term contraception, Carevix may bring relief to many who say the insertion process of these devices was the worst pain of their lives. Clinical studies found the suction technology reduced pain during IUD insertions by more than 70% and bleeding by over 80%.

The shift is a major move toward reducing painful — even traumatizing — experiences at the doctor’s office.

“We’ve had the tenaculum since 1889,” says Andréa Becker, a medical sociologist at Hunter College in New York. “Changing the tool itself could be revolutionary.”

What is an IUD and why is getting it typically so painful?

An IUD is a small device inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. The device has two variations: hormonal IUDs and copper IUDs.

IUDs are more than 99% effective and largely mistake-proof: You don’t have to worry about remembering to take a pill or a condom breaking. People with IUDs are protected for 3 to 12 years, depending on the IUD type.

But getting an IUD can be painful for some. While the process typically takes just a few minutes, some people can feel intense pain while others feel nothing, Dr. Franziska Haydanek, an OBGYN and online health educator, previously told USA TODAY. The process can be excruciating for some, causing dizziness and even fainting.

Real women speak out: Doctors left her in the dark about what to expect. Online, other women stepped in.

Working within new guidelines

Carevix’s arrival comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated recommendations for IUD insertions in August 2024, encouraging the use of lidocaine and pain management tools to help patients.

And the step to change the actual device doctors use is a significant move forward, Becker says. In addition to IUDs, the new device is poised to reduce pain across an array of fertility and gynecological procedures, including hysteroscopies, embryo transfers, intrauterine inseminations (IUI), fallopian tube patency assessments, and endometrial biopsies.

“It is heartening there is beginning to be attention to the need to update these tools,” Becker says. “It indicates a shift in how we think about women’s pain.”

Contributing: Alyssa Goldberg