I.U.D.S ‘may not be so bad’

Press, 26 February 1986, Page 24

I.U.D.S ‘may not be so bad’

PA Dunedin The intra-uterine contraceptive (1.U.D.) - even those brands which have been withdrawn from use

- may not be so bad, according to a senior Dunedin gynaecologist The gynaecologist, a senior in the Otago Medical School’s department of obstetrics and gynaecology, declined to be named because of his profession’s advertising ethics. "A proportionately greater number of people may be satisfied with this as a contraceptive method. They are not making complaints so they are not getting publicity,” he said.

Thousands of lawsuits have been lodged against the Daikon Shield, while the Saf-T-Coil and the Lippes Loop have also been withdrawn from the market. The doctor said that side-effects, including pelvic inflammatory disease, associated with the devices, have often oc-

curred because they have not been changed within 18 months to two years.

“The Daikon Shield didn’t carry a recommendation that it be replaced and it does seem to be a time-related factor. The longer it stays in the greater the chance of some complication. “Within the guidelines which have now emerged since the early ones we used, I think the instance of side-effects is relatively low.”

A special committee set

up by the Health Department and chaired by Professor Richard Seddon of Dunedin, who is the department’s obstetrics and gynaecology consultant, will begin an examination of I.U.D.s on Friday.

The administrator of the Dunedin Family Planning Clinic, Mrs Jane Higman, said there had been no drop in demand at the clinic for I.U.D.S.

Mrs Highman said the clinic would continue to offer the Copper 7 device until otherwise directed by the Health Department.

The Copper 7 has been withdrawn from the United States’ market because of the huge cost of defending hundreds of lawsuits alleging injury to women according to the manufacturer, Searle and Company. Inert plastic I.U.D.S - including the Daikon Shield and the Lippes Loop, are no longer available but the Copper 7 is among a range of copper devices still in use.

Mrs Highman said the family planning clinic encouraged queries and an increased number involved women asking about their I.U.D.s — what type they had inserted and how long ago.

“But we haven’t had any increase in the number of people requesting to have them out which is what I thought would happen. The numbers being inserted have not dropped off either.”