Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks us to identify the specific class of intrauterine devices (IUDs) that utilize a dual mechanism of making the uterine endometrium unsuitable for implantation and the cervix hostile to sperm.
Step 2: Key Concept and Approach:
Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are classified into three major groups based on their active components:
- Non-medicated IUDs (e.g., Lippes loop) which elevate local phagocytosis of sperm.
- Copper-releasing IUDs (e.g., CuT, Cu7, Multiload 375) which release copper ions to suppress sperm motility.
- Hormone-releasing IUDs (e.g., Progestasert, LNG 20) which continuously release small amounts of progesterone.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
• Action of Hormone-Releasing IUDs: Progestasert and LNG 20 are hormone-releasing devices.
They release synthetic progestogens directly into the uterine cavity.
• Hostility of Cervix: These hormones alter the consistency of the cervical mucus, making it thick, viscous, and highly hostile to sperm migration.
• Unsuitability of Endometrium: The local progestogen concentration prevents the normal proliferative changes of the endometrium.
This prevents the blastocyst from attaching, making implantation impossible.
• Analysis of Other Options: Multiload 375, CuT, and Cu7 are copper-releasing IUDs, whose primary mode of action is suppressing sperm motility.
Lippes loop is non-medicated.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The hormone-releasing IUDs Progestasert and LNG 20 are the correct choices, corresponding to Option (D).