§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what monitoring of women who have been fitted with intrauterine contraceptives is carried out by his Department; what funds are allocated for this purpose; if he is satisfied that sufficient follow-up checks are done on women who have been fitted with such devices; and if he will make a statement;
(2) pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East on 4 February, how many Dalkon shields he estimates were fitted since 1974; and if he is now able to give better estimates of the number of women who are still using the Dalkon shield;
(3) if he will reconsider his decision not to launch a publicity campaign for the recall of the Dalkon shield;
(4) if he will undertake a nationwide survey of all those women known to have been fitted with a Dalkon shield from the date of its manufacture;
(5) if he is satisfied that those women who are still using the Dalkon shield are not likely to suffer adverse effects; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the dangers associated with the Dalkon shield, the numbers of women still using it, the numbers fitted with it since 1974 and the risks of septic abortion and infected pregnancy associated with its use, in the light of the evidence sent to him by the hon. Member for Lewisham, West.
§ Dr. VaughanThe frequency of follow-up of women who have been fitted with an intrauterine device (IUD) is a matter for the clinical judgment of the doctor who has fitted the device. If a woman is in any way concerned about the particular device she is wearing, she should consult her general practitioner or the local family planning clinic. Sufficient information has been made available to make doctors aware of potential problems associated with use of the Dalkon shield and I would expect doctors to discuss with any 441W of their patients who still use this device whether there may be indications to change the device or adopt a different method of contraception. I am advised that it is now customary to remove an IUD in early pregnancy. However, published reports show that even where an IUD is not removed, the risk of a septic abortion or infected pregnancy is low.
I have nothing to add to the answer my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short) on 4 February—[Vol. 978, c. 75–7]—with regard to the questions about the number of Dalkon shields fitted since 1974 and the number currently in use. I shall, however, be contacting the relevant professional bodies about the extent of this problem; and if hon. Members have any relevant information I should be grateful if they would send it to me.