The Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Southern Medical Association. It has a multidisciplinary and inter-professional focus that covers a broad range of topics relevant to physicians and other healthcare specialists.

SMJ // Article

Current Concepts

The Intrauterine Device: Still Misunderstood After All These Years

Authors: DIANA CHENG, MD

Abstract

The intrauterine device (IUD) is one of the most effective, safe, and economic methods of contraception today. It is used by more women worldwide than any other reversible method of birth control, yet less than 1% of women in the United States use the IUD. Still remembering the tragedy of the notorious Dalkon Shield, American pharmaceutical companies and clinicians have been wary about promoting any IUD, leaving most physicians inadequately trained in the two IUDs available in the United States. Most significantly, misconceptions about the IUD's safety, mechanism of action, complication rates, and liability have severely limited the utilization of the IUD by many practitioners and women in the United States who may greatly benefit from it.

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