I want to pursue getting an iud. i am worried the strings will poke/hurt my significant other. how can this be avoided?

Understand it: These products were in development for decades before they were approved for public use. Millions are now in use & by definition they are use by those with significant others who don't seem to mind. The tiny filaments that help with insertion & retrieval were modified over the years of development with such issues in mind. You don't fix whats not broke.