Branded by Pharmaceuticals under the name Paragard (or ParaGard), the metallic IUD was first invented in 1929 by German physician Ernst Grafenburg using silver wrapped in silk instead of hormones to “decapitate” sperm. The metal filament concept was improved by Howard Tatum and Jamie Zipper with the first introduction of a copper IUD in 1967.
Teva sold the Paragard brand to Cooper Companies (Pleasanton, California) in 2017 for $1.1 billion. Billed as the most natural, most effective, long-term, low-maintenance contraceptive on the American market, it was considered revolutionary, boasting no notable side effects – maybe a little light bleeding or intermittent spotting – and a greater than 99% assurance of preventing pregnancy.
Paragard’s design incorporates two T-wings (arms) attached at 90° angles to a vertical plastic stem wrapped in copper coil. At the bottom, strings are trimmed to retract just inside the vaginal entrance to assist in removal. When pressure is gently applied with forceps, the horizontal arms theoretically fold up, enabling the device to slide down through the uterus, which is aligned with the cervix, and exit through the vagina.
Using copper filament instead of hormone solution as spermicide (sperm cells are revolted by copper), Paragard is considered the most widely used reversible contraceptive on the U.S. market.
Paragard Was Supposed to Be a Safer IUD – Except It Wasn’t.
As early as 2015, an article was published in the Open Journal of Clinical and Medical Case Reports that explored data on a series of broken IUDS – all of them involving ParaGard® 380A copper IUD. “The ‘Broken’ IUD: Its Detection and Clinical Management” notes that while IUDs are a popular form of long-term birth control and can be both safe and effective, healthcare providers should be more aware of the potential dangers of IUDs breaking (specifically ParaGard 380A).2