The introduction of the contraceptive pill to mainstream America in 1960 gave women vaunted freedom over their bodies.
However, like any other drug, some unwanted side effects can occur making their use for some unpleasant. There were reports that artificial estrogen led to blood clots in some women subjects. You can add incidents of nausea, vomiting, and sometimes breast pain to the list. Many women cited freedom of choice in the search for an alternative to the pill. Ultimately one of the devices that turned heads was the LARCs or long-acting reversible contraceptives that include intra-uterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants.
Intra-uterine devices (IUDs), first introduced in 1909 in Germany, has a slow acceptance history. It even gained a notorious reputation because of the failed Dalkon Shield device in the 1970s when reports of infertility, pelvic infections, and sepsis came to light. It took until 2013 before IUDs became popular again after much-safer versions were released in the market. Although LARCs are said to be highly effective and are considered set-and-forget contraceptive devices, they lag behind the pill in usage.
A big deterrent to the use of LARCs is the cost of the procedure. The insertion may or may not be covered by Insurance. Its removal, when the woman changes her mind, is sometimes not. Some women also do not feel comfortable with an alien device embedded inside their bodies. These and a variety of other reasons make women prefer the contraceptive pill over the LARCs.
by Dr. Barry Verkauf, author of the book, Sex, Science, Society, and Reproduction: The Pill that changed America
