Vancouver, BCThe number of IUD’s such as the Mirena IUD used by Canadian women for birth control is increasing, while Mirena lawsuits south of the border are also on the rise.
According to a report in the Globe and Mail (December 16, 2013), IUD insertions have increased by approximately 34 percent over the past three years at one Vancouver clinic, and another clinic reported a nine-fold increase since 2009.
“I work very hard to increase the number of IUDs used in B.C. and in Canada,” said Dr. Wiebe, medical director at Vancouver’s Willow Women’s Clinic. Her intention is to give women “the most effective, user-friendly form of birth control available because more than one in four Canadian women will have an unintended pregnancy.” Bayer marketed its Mirena IUD to be just that - user friendly. It even went so far as to promote Mirena parties to “busy moms who can simplify their lifestyle.”
Perhaps Dr. Wiebe hasn’t read the FDA’s adverse event reports regarding Mirena. The agency has received more than 70,000 Mirena reports that may involve device dislocation and uterine perforation. In 2009, the FDA sent Bayer, the Mirena maker, a warning letter after finding the company overstated the benefits of its IUD and understated its risks.
The report goes on to say that today’s IUD’s, including the Mirena, have fewer risks than the earlier models and there is a one in 1,000 chance the uterus could be perforated when the IUD is inserted, a possibility of pelvic infection in the first three weeks, and a one to two percent chance that the device will slip out.
About 600 Mirena lawsuits claiming injury due to spontaneous device migration have been filed in courts throughout the US. About half of these claims are pending in a multi-county litigation underway in Bergen County Superior Court in New Jersey (In Re: Mirena Litigation; Case No. 297). Most of the other Mirena lawsuits have been filed in a federal proceeding established in U. S. District Court, Southern District of New York (In re: Mirena IUD Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2434).
And Mirena miscarriage claims are on the rise. The plaintiffs allege that spontaneous migration of the device caused them to suffer uterine perforations, infertility, organ damage and other painful Mirena side effects. Furthermore, Mirena victims claim that Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals failed to warn about the potential for dangerous side effects to happen.
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