Overlooked: Women's Health Can't Wait

The dark history of the Dalkon Shield IUD, with Chikako Takeshita

Episode Summary

The IUD - intrauterine device - is a contraceptive method that was originally created to be a tool for population control.

Episode Notes

Modern IUDs - intrauterine devices - are a safe form of contraception for most women. But this wasn’t always the case. Author Chikako Takeshita traces the history and development of these devices, originally created for population control in 1960s, and talks about one IUD in particular, the Dalkon Shield, which would cause widespread harm to the women who used it, and in some cases, had lethal consequences.

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Show notes:

The Global Biopolitics of the IUD: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547840/the-global-biopolitics-of-the-iud/

Chikako Takeshita: Associate Professor at the University of California Riverside - https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/chikakot

More information about IUDs: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24441-intrauterine-device-iud