An association between the Dalkon Shield and complicated pregnancies among women hospitalized for intrauterine contraceptive device--related disorders.

A nationwide mail survey of virtually all physicians likely to be involved with intrauterine contraception resulted in 3,502 unduplicated reports of intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD)--related hospitalizations during the first six months of 1973. Dalkon Shield use was significantly more frequent among women hospitalized for a complicated pregnancy than those hospitalized for a non-pregnancy-related disorder. Although the observed association was not substantially altered by stratifications of the mail survey reports by the patient's age, race, or geographical region, the association did not apply to those women whose IUD's were explicitly reported to be of the nulliparous size. Interviews conducted with a probability sample of physicians who had not responded to the survey confirmed that the association between the Dalkon Shield and complicated pregnancy also existed in their experience. An association between the standard Dalkon Shield and complicated pregnancies might reflect an increased rate of pregnancy with this device, an increased rate of complications occurring after zygotic implantation, or perhaps both. Whatever the explanation, the observed association is sufficiently widespread to require further investigations.