1. Norplant removal forceps;Bennett, A.;J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care,2008
2. I read the article on the underuse of the intrauterine device (IUD)1 in the July issue with great interest and noted that none of the references are prior to 1983. That is 25 years ago, however the real blow to the IUD’s popularity was in the late-1970s when the Dalkon Shield® was pilloried and vilified as a source of pelvic infection and sterility, on what I believe was false scientific evidence. At that time there was a UK IUD network, organised by Professor R Snowden of Exeter University to which 20 major family planning clinics belonged
3. Every device fitted and every subsequent patient visit was recorded and sent to Exeter. In 1977, over 40 000 fittings had been recorded, of which 7282 were Dalkon Shields. There were only two cases of pelvic infection and both were cases known to me in Glasgow: one in a prostitute with gonorrhoea and the other in a woman who had tried to abort herself with a knitting needle. As a direct result of organised adverse publicity, the manufacturers of the Dalkon Shield went out of business and the reputation of all IUDs worldwide suffered a slump from which it has never recovered. A similar campaign against Depo-Provera® was mounted from the USA in the early 1980s and injectable methods never achieved the popularity they deserve for similar commercial reasons. Women are ill-served by ‘market forces’
4. FFSRH Family Planning Services Coordinator, Greater Glasgow Health Board 1980–1990;Wilson, Elizabeth S.B.; M.B.B.S.
5. Plann;Fam, J.;Reprod Health Care,2008