Object Record
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Description |
A green colored IUD, its shape resembles a round eye or fish with one large eye and five legs on each side, fish shaped with spiky fins, IUD has half circle hole at the distal end and a circular hole at the proximal end. The tail is comprised of 400 fibers that acted as a capillary wick for the conduit of bacteria to pass from the vagina to the uterine cavity. |
Catalog number |
2004.020.0436 |
Other Name |
Dalkon Shield Nullip |
Notes |
By simply lessening the dimensions of the Standard Dalkon shield, the developers of the Nullip model claimed to have developed a nearly perfect form of IUD for the woman who had never been pregnant. On this basis of a major advertising effort, over 600.000 Nullip Dalkon Shields were sold in the US in the first 2 years of marketing. it has not been scientifically tested. While tolerated by some women, many others found its insertion to be an agonizingly painful experience contrary to the claims of its advertising. ( Russel J. Thomsen. M.D; An Atlas of Intrauterine Contraception, 1982) The Dalkon Shield IUD was a defective intrauterine birth control device manufactured and sold by the A.H. Robins Co. of Richmond, Virginia from January 1971 through June 1974. It was invented by Dr. Hugh Davis and Mr. Win Lerner. It caused numerous injuries, including miscarriages, loss of female organs and infertility. (http://lawandhelp.com/q294-4.htm) The February 1st issue of the 1970 American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology proclaimed the Dalkon Shield to be a "superior modern contraceptive." Rates of 1.1 for pregnancy and 94% for continuation were claimed. It was also sold in 43 other countries. Dalkon Shield became available at the same time as the U.S. Senate was holding inquiries into the safety of oral contraceptives. It was an immediate hit, especially among young women who had doubts about the pill. The year that A.H. Robins began marketing the Shield, the devices accounted for 66 percent of all IUDs sold, and by mid1973, about 40 percent of all IUDs in use were Shields. By June 1974, when the FDA requested suspension of further sales, 2.8 million women had purchased the device. (http://www.healthsquare.com/fgwh/wh1ch20.htm) A.H. Robins entered bankruptcy on August 21, 1985. There were over 300,000 Dalkon Shield claims filed in the bankruptcy court. The law fir of Brown & Szaller Co., L.P.A. represented many of the seriously injured victims throughout the world. Of the victims represented by Brown & Szaller, about 40 will end up going to jury trial. It is expected that within 4 years (a very long time for those who have not yet resolved their claims), all Brown & Szaller Dalkon Shield clients will have resolved their claims. Brown & Szaller houses the "Dalkon Shield Litigation II Depository". The Depository -- the largest Dalkon Shield depository in the world -- contains all documents used in Dalkon Shield litigations. Over 100 law firms world-wide belong to the Depository. All cases involving the Dalkon Shield are monitored by the firm, and the results of that monitoring are made available to the 100 member law firms. (http://lawandhelp.com/q294-4.htm) In 1982, McCarthy and coworkers performed an experiment to copmare 4 IUDs (MLCu250, 7Cu200, Dalkon Shield, and the Latex Leaf) over a 24 month period. Out of 843 patients, the Dalkon Shield had a significantly higher pregnancy rate at 2 years. Since removing it needed some force it had a unique tail which was not a single filament like all other coils, but many fibers wound together and enclosed in a sheath. This detail was responsible for frequent and very serious side effects as in the plaited thread bacteria could establish themselves. If a woman became pregnant despite using a Dalkon Shield these bacteria could migrate into the uterus and cause serious infection. A few women even died. The Dalkon Shield had been marketed in great numbers since 1970 although initially only a few insufficient studies existed. Due to these severe side effects many women sued the company which went bankrupt soon after. |
Manufacturer or Distributor |
A.H. Robbins Company, Virginia |
Lexicon category |
Intrauterine devices |
Lexicon sub-category |
Intrauterine device |
Collection |
Skuy Collection |
People |
Robbins, A.H. |
Search Terms |
Contraception IUD Dalkon Shield Nullip Intrauterine device Intrauterine Device IUD contraception birth control |
Material |
Plastic/Polyethylene/Barium Sulphat |
Accession number |
2004.020 |