Before its introduction into the United States in 1988, the copper intrauterine device (IUD) was carefully tested following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations for new drugs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) closely monitored postintroduction events for currently available IUDs for nearly a decade before concluding that IUDs were safe and effective methods of birth control.<sup>5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Current trends: IUD safety. Report of a nationwide physician survey—editorial note—1997. IUD safety MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1996 ;  46 : 971

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> Because IUDs dramatically reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy and are convenient, rapidly reversible, and cost-effective, it is remarkable that this method is so infrequently used in the United States. Less than 1% of married contracepting women in the United States use IUDs. Worldwide, the IUD is the most frequently used method of reversible contraception; 106 million women (10% of married women of reproductive age) were using IUDs for birth control in 1995.<sup>40 Treiman K., Liskin L., Kols A. , et al. IUDs—an update Popul Rep B 1995 ;  23 (6) : 1-35

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> In Western Europe, rates range from 7% to 19%. Many US physicians are reluctant to recommend the IUD to their patients because of the negative clinical experience and medicolegal nightmares that resulted from flaws in the Dalkon Shield and earlier misapplications of the IUD. Nevertheless, the dissemination of new scientific evidence and recent clinical experience support greater use of IUDs in the United States.