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Little Risk with Today's IUDs

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 17, 2006

Birth Control • FDA Approves Generic 'Plan B' Pill • Over-the-Counter Contraceptive Pill May Not Work • Ortho-Evra Patch Should Be Withdrawn: Public Citizen • Contraceptive Pill May Help Conception • Birth Control Pill Linked to Heart Disease • New Contraceptive Eliminates Women’s Periods • FDA Approves OTC Sales of Plan B • Wal-Mart Agrees to Stock Plan B in Connecticut Stores • Wal-Mart to Begin Dispensing "Morning After" Pill This Week • FDA: Birth Control Patch Needs More Study • Little Risk with Today's IUDs • Wal-Mart May Stock "Emergency" Contraceptives • New Warning Labels for Ortho Evra Contraceptive Patch • Feds Toughen Warning for Depo-Provera

Intrauterine devices used to prevent pregnancy are a lot safer than you might think, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Doctors conducted a large federally-funded study of modern IUDs in hundreds of women. They found that modern IUDs are safe, do not make women sterile and do not lead to infections, which can block the Fallopian tubes.

A lot of women have concerns about this issues because of an IUD called the Dalkon Shield. In the late 1970s, it caused all kinds of problems ranging from infections to sterility.

The Dalkon Shield was built differently from modern IUDs. It had a bundle of filaments that hung down and formed a highway for germs. Modern IUDs have little or nothing similar to the Dalkon and are quite safe.

Today's IUDs make sense for women in monogamous relationships who have little risk of sexually transmitted diseases, though they should be checked regularly by a physician.

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