Clinical experience with intra-uterine devices: pregnancies, expulsions and removals.

Abstract

Summary. Clinical experience, mostly in the United States, with five major types of intra-uterine devices, computed under the Cooperative Statistical Program of the Population Council, covered 27,575 women with 477,157 months of use as of mid-1967. The devices studied were: the loop, spiral, bow, stainless steel ring and the double coil. The principal reasons for discontinuation of use were removals for bleeding or pain, and expulsion, with the highest risk in the 1st year of use. Declines in expulsions and pregnancies were more closely associated with increasing age than with parity, while removal rates declined moderately with increasing parity.