Origins Myth: Stones, Hippocrates, and Pessaries

IUDs are under the umbrella of long-acting, reversible contraceptives, and they’re the oldest one of these in use today. 

Research:

• Baldauf, P et al. “A Report on the Hysteroscopic Removal of a Gräfenberg Ring After Almost Fifty Years in Utero.” Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde vol. 74,11 (2014): 1023-1025. doi:10.1055/s-0034-1383130. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4245252/
• Case Western Reserve University. “Intrauterine device (IUD).” https://artsci.case.edu/dittrick/online-exhibits/history-of-birth-control/contraception-in-america-1950-present-day/intrauterine-device-iud/
• Cooper, James Fryer. “Technique of contraception: the principles and practice of anti-conceptional methods.” Day-Nichols Inc., Publishers. 1928, 1930. https://archive.org/details/techniqueofcontr0000jame/
• Corbett, Megan and Brandy Bautista. “A History: The IUD.” Reproductive Health Access Project. 3/20/2024. https://www.reproductiveaccess.org/2024/03/a-history-the-iud/
• Curtis, Kathryn M. et al. “U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use, 2024.” Centers for Disease Control. 8/8/2024. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/rr/rr7303a1.htm
• Dickinson, Robert L. et al. “Contraception: A Medical Review of the Situation.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1924-11: Vol 8 Iss 5. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.50850/page/n585/
• Edwards, Baylee A., "Ernst Gräfenberg (1881–1957)". Embryo Project Encyclopedia ( 2022-11-17 ). ISSN: 1940-5030 https://hdl.handle.net/10776/13358
• Fallas, Rebecca and Helen King. “IUD or not IUD? Did the Hippocratics invent the first intrauterine device?. Mistaking Histories. 7/18/2017. https://mistakinghistories.uk/2017/07/18/iud-or-not-iud-did-the-hippocratics-invent-the-first-intrauterine-device/
• Fotinos, Diane J. “Gold Stemmed Pessaries: A Shadow of the Past.” UT Health. 9/11/2019. https://library.uthscsa.edu/2017/09/gold-stemmed-pessaries-a-shadow-of-the-past/
• Goldstuck, Norman D. “Reducing Barriers to the use of the Intrauterine Contraceptive Device as a Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive.” African Journal of Reproductive Health / La Revue Africaine de la Santé Reproductive, December 2014, Vol. 18, No. 4 (December 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24362040
• Goodhue PA. The Dalkon Shield debate. Conn Med. 1983 Mar;47(3):138-41. PMID: 6851548.
• Haubacher, David. “The Checkered Past and Bright Future of Intrauterine Contraception in the United States.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health , Mar. - Apr., 2002. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3030213
• Homei, Aya. “Why did the Japanese Government take so long to approve the intrauterine contraceptive device?.” Reproductive biomedicine & society online vol. 6 45-54. 16 Oct. 2018, doi:10.1016/j.rbms.2018.09.002
• Hubacher, David. “The Checkered History and Bright Future of Intrauterine Contraception In the United States.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Vol. 34, Issue 2. https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2002/03/checkered-history-and-bright-future-intrauterine-contraception-united-states
• Hutchings, Jane E. et al. “The IUD After 20 Years: A Review of Worldwide Experience.” International Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Sep., 1985). https://www.jstor.org/stable/2947998
• Jones, R. W., et al. “Clinical Experience With The Dalkon Shield Intrauterine Device.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 3, no. 5872, 1973, pp. 143–45. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25420726. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
• Klapperich, Catherine M. “From the Dalkon Shield to Britney Spears’ IUD: Why Diverse Teams Need to Be Involved in Contraceptive Design.” The Brink. Boston University. 7/1/2021. https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/from-the-dalkon-shield-to-britney-spears-iud-why-diverse-teams-need-to-be-involved-in-contraceptive-design/
• Lopes-Garcia, E. A., Carmona, E. V., Monteiro, I., & Bahamondes, L. (2023). Assessment of pain and ease of intrauterine device placement according to type of device, parity, and mode of delivery. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, 28(3), 163–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/13625187.2023.2189500
• Margulies, Lazar. “History of Intrauterine Devices.” Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. Vol. 51, No. 5, May 1975.
• Museum of Contraception and Abortion. “Tenrei Ota (1900-1985).” https://muvs.org/en/topics/pioneers/tenrei-ota-1900-1985-en/
• Oppenheimer, W.. “Prevention of pregnancy by the graefenberg ring method.” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Volume 78, Issue 2, 446 – 454. https://www.ajog.org/article/0002-9378(59)90203-0/abstract
• Peipert, Jeffrey F. “Lippes loop and the first IUDs: lessons from a bygone era.” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Volume 219, Issue 2, 127 – 128. https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(18)30488-5/fulltext
• Peipert, Jeffrey F. “Lippes loop and the first IUDs: lessons from a bygone era.” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Volume 219, Issue 2, 127 – 128 . https://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(18)30488-5/fulltext
• Thiery, M. “Pioneers of the intrauterine device.” The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care. Volume 2, Number 1, March 1997. The Parthenon Publishing Group International Publishers.
• Thomsen, Russel J. “An Atlas of Intrauterine Contraception.” Hemisphere Publishing Company. 1982.
• Tietze, Christopher and Sarah Lewit. “Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Devices: Proceedings of the Conference, April 30-May 1, 1962, New York City.” Exerpta Medica Foundation.
• Willingham, Emily. “A ‘Simple’ Piece of Plastic.” American Scientist. May-June 2012. https://www.americanscientist.org/article/a-simple-piece-of-plastic
• World Health Organization. “Selected practice recommendations for contraceptive use.” Fourth Edition. https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/582c8182-f4b1-406b-b5e7-d81c1870df93/content

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