Prolonged bleeding or spotting and pain are the most common reasons for women to request early removal of intrauterine device (IUD). We wanted to investigate which parameters influenced the removal of IUDs among women in general practice and to see if there was a difference between copper-releasing IUDs and levonorgestrel-releasing IUDs. In general the women were satisfied with both types of IUDs. More women with copper-releasing IUDs had an early removal because of complaints than women with levonorgestrel-releasing IUDs.