Push for Return to IUD Made Despite Dangers

(September 2, 2008) After having six children in seven years, Kadi Prescott asked her doctor for the intrauterine device, or IUD. In an unhappy twist of fate, she became pregnant anyway, and the IUD remained in her body, causing much pain, until after the pregnancy, when it emerged through her rectum six months after her child was born.

Happily, Kadi's child was born healthy and the mother was able to have the device removed. And although the experience is the kind that has driven many women in the United States away from the IUD, the Alan Guttmacher Institute is calling for a return to its use.

In a recent article, the institute suggests that greater familiarity and “direct action” be taken to promote the beleaguered device. Introduced in the mid-1960s, IUD use dropped over the years, especially after the dark days of the 1980's, when the Dalkon Shield IUD was pulled off the market by its maker, A. H. Robbins, after a class action lawsuit over its infection-causing design.

The device's problems persist. The Mirena IUD, introduced in 2001, admits that it can cause infection, severe allergic reactions, breast lumps, changes in vision, chills, dizziness, fever, genital sores, lack of a menstrual period, mental and mood changes, painful sexual intercourse, prolonged heavy menstrual bleeding, and vomiting, among other severe problems.

An added worry, mentioned by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, is the concern by some women that the IUD acts as an abortifacient. The IUD is known to change the inner lining of a woman's uterus so that the newly conceived embryo cannot implant in the womb.

Today's IUD, a small plastic or metal device that typically releases either copper or hormones, traces its unaesthetic legacy to ancient Egypt, when crocodile dung was used, as well as to China, when pieces of shells were inserted in the uterus.

The device is much more popular in Europe and other parts of the world. One reason for its greater popularity outside of the U.S is that lawsuits are less likely, the Guttmacher Institute reports. The device is used by at least 800,000 women in the United States, according to the most recent data.

Women in Berwyn, Cicero, Lyons, Westchester, La Grange, Stickney, IL and other area communities can contact WomanCare Services with regard to the IUD, abortion, free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds.

Sources:

“The Truth About the IUD,” Kadi Prescott, EzineArticles.com
“Popularity Disparity: Attitudes About the IUD in Europe and the United States,” Adam Sonfeld, Guttmacher Policy Review, Fall 2007 (PDF)
Risks noted in Mirena Patient Insert, Bayer Health Care Pharmaceuticals (PDF)
Risks noted in Mirena Physician's Information, FDA Medwatch (PDF)
“Mirena Side Effects,” Drugs.com
“Infection and the IUD,” Medical Digest

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