Lippes loop

An early IUD version called the Lippes Loop was used for the campaign.

The complications that arose from the Lippes Loop being fitted in girls and young women ranged from severe bleeding, to infection, persistent pain and infertility.

Holga had her uterus removed in 2018 on the advice of her doctor, due to various complications as a result of the Lippes Loop.

"I could not imagine the pain you would have from placing this thing into a small cavity," says gynaecologist Aviaja Siegstad as she shows me a model of a young woman's uterus next to a Lippes Loop.

Almost simultaneously, the Manhattan-based Population Council reported that family-planning efforts in Taiwan and South Korea had met with marked success, mainly through increased use of intrauterine devices like the Lippes loop.