The Dalkon Shield

The Dalkon Shield was an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) that women used in the early 1970s and 1980s. Produced by the A.H. Robins Company in the US, the Dalkon Shield was a contraceptive device placed directly into a woman?s uterus [3] that was supposed to prevent pregnancy [4]. In the 1980s, researchers discovered that the Dalkon Shield caused an array of severe injuries, including pelvic infection, infertility [5], unintended pregnancy [4], and death. Eventually the A.H. Robins Company took the shield off the market, and the US Food and Drug Administration banned the device. Many users of the Dalkon Shield sued the production company and were awarded millions of dollars in compensation and punitive damages. After the dangers of the Dalkon Shield became public through those lawsuits, the popularity of intrauterine devices decreased significantly in the US.