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History of Copper Intrauterine Devices

An intrauterine device (IUD) is a form of birth control in which a health care provider inserts a small t-shaped device into a woman's uterus. The device remains in place for as long as the woman wants to avoid pregnancy, up 10 years. Copper IUDs can remain in place for up to 12 years. Today there are two IUD devices on the market in the United States, the ParaGuard IUD, which contains copper, and the Mirena device, which contains the hormone progesterone and can remain in place for up to five years.

  1. History

    • Intrauterine devices evolved out of stem pessaries, which are devices inserted into the vagina to prevent pregnancy or support a prolapsed uterus. Pessaries and other barrier contraception methods have been in use for hundreds of years and pessaries were in common use in America since the nineteenth century.

    The Modern IUD

    • The modern IUD was a German invention developed in the early twentieth century. In 1902, Dr. Carl Hollweg invented a pessary device that partially inserted into the uterus. In 1909 another German doctor conceived of a true intrauterine device which was contained entirely in the uterus. This device, however, was limited to the two-page publication describing it, and was never marketed. Finally, in 1929, Dr. Ernst Grafenburg published a report detailing the efficacy of a silk suture ring device bound in silver wire. Tests found a pregnancy rate of only 1.6 percent out of 600 women who used this device. The wire binding the device turned out to contain 26 percent copper. It would be another 40 years before the connection between copper, which contributes a spermicidal effect, and contraception would be made.

    Advantages of Copper IUD

    • The copper IUD does not affect women's hormone levels. The device can be used during breast feeding and when removed, the ability to become pregnant quickly returns. In addition, copper intrauterine devices can remain in place longer than other IUDs, up to 12 years, and can also be used as a form of emergency contraception.

    Disadvantages

    • Periods may be painful and become heavier with the use of a copper IUD as opposed to the hormone-based IUD option and spotting between periods may increase. The insertion of the IUD is associated with a slight risk of infection and brief risk of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Copper intrauterine devices also do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases.

    Effectiveness and Prevalence

    • Today there are a number of IUDs on the market worldwide and the modern copper IUDs developed in the 1970s have been improved and now achieve a rate of over 99 percent effectiveness according to a World Health Organization study conducted in 1997. The IUD is now the world's most widely used reversible birth control method.

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