Many women know that having an IUD inserted into their womb can be an extremely painful experience, but new government guidance published on Thursday could soon make the experience less painful for many.

For the first time, updated recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that doctors counsel women about pain medication before the procedure. Experts say the policy may prompt doctors to take the potential pain more seriously and administer pain medication more often.

In recent years, the problem has been documented on social media, with some women describing unimaginable pain during IUD placement.

“Unless you live in total isolation, you’re aware of the problem,” Dr. Beverly Gray, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University, told the New York Times. “Women’s pain and experiences have been downplayed throughout medicine. This really reinforces that this can be a really painful experience for some people.”

Unfortunately, a 2015 study found that doctors tend to underestimate their patients’ pain during surgery.

But Dr. Eve Espey, chief of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of New Mexico, told the Times that she believes the CDC’s latest guidelines are much more reflective of patients’ wishes and experiences.

“I think it’s a significant shift,” she said. “The guidance on this topic has shifted from a more provider-centered focus to a more patient-centered focus.”

Why is this important? Fear of pain can prevent women from considering the contraceptive, which is safe and highly effective, Espey noted.

Dr. Antoinette Nguyen, a physician in the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, said the new guidance, published August 8 in the CDC publication Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Reportacknowledges that patients’ experiences can intensify the perception of pain.

The latest guidelines also expand the types of pain relief available to women during the procedure, an important addition because lidocaine injections — the only anesthesia option mentioned in the CDC’s 2016 guidelines — can themselves be painful, Espey noted.

The new options include anesthetic gels, creams and sprays. While Espey said the evidence for the effectiveness of these local anesthetics is not overwhelming, the new recommendations expand the arsenal of painkillers doctors can use.

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