Time mag 30 Jun 2014 the intrauterine device (IUD). Among its selling points were the fact that the IUD is hassle-free, lasting three to 12 years without maintenance or replacement, depending on the brand. It’s also practically fool-proof, on par with female sterilization or vasectomy at preventing pregnancy. By the late 1980s, there was interest among some health groups to bring back the IUD, particularly outside the U.S. “The Mirena IUD got pioneered in Europe in the early ’90s and caught on like wildfire,” says Minkin. Today, 23% of French women using contraception have an IUD; 27% of Norwegians; and 41% of women in China. In the U.S., the percentage of women with an IUD still hovers around 9.