"If intrauterine devices were automobiles, the Dalkon Shield would have been a Pinto," according to a 1992 news article in USA Today. The faulty design of both products warranted a massive recall and served to smudge the reputation of their manufacturers. Unlike the big-three Pinto manufacturer Ford Motor Company, IUD makers didn't fare so well; Dalkon's A.H. Robins Company declared bankruptcy due to lawsuits costing the company over $480 million, and other IUD manufacturers pulled out of the business because they could no longer afford liability insurance.
But IUDs didn't just fade into the sunset. Scientists improved them, making a second generation of the devices safer and more appealing. Now, American women are once again turning to IUDs for effective long-term birth control.
As you can imagine, researchers conducted numerous studies once women started experiencing problems with the Dalkon Shield. There were two kinds of problems: miscarriages and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), an infection that can cause infertility. Earlier clinical studies indicated no association with either of these problems, but once the court battles started, researchers found astonishingly high rates of complications with the Dalkon Shield and an unexpected link between all types of intrauterine devices and PID.
Modern researchers have criticized both the conclusions of these older studies and the way they were conducted. After re-examining the data, they feel that other factors, such as life-style, may play a crucial role in the development of complications among women using an IUD.
Although there is no general consensus on the research findings, most experts agree that IUDs are an excellent contraceptive choice for most women as long as the devices are inserted under sterile conditions. Women at risk for sexually transmitted disease, however, should probably select another form of birth control.