A three-year trial of the Gravigard (Cu-7) intrauterine device

The Gravigard (Cu-7) intrauterine device was evaluated in 201 patients (106 nulligravid, 20 nulliparous and 75 multiparous) for a period totalling 4,794 menstrual cycles. Only 4-9% of all insertions of the device proved difficult. Nine involuntary pregnancies occurred at a life-table rate of 3-0 +/- 1-3 per 100 women during the first year. Both pregnancies and expulsion of the device occurred more frequently in nulliparous than in multiparous women. Most expulsions of the device occurred during the first six months of use. A continuation rate of 72-6 per 100 women was achieved during the first year, of 58-2 per 100 women during the intial two years, and of 36-0 per 100 women during the three years of the trial. One of the most noteworthy features of this new IUCD is the extreme ease of its insertion in both nulliparous and multiparous patients.