Serious medical problems reported with the use of the Dalkon Shield in the 1970s frightened many women away from IUDs, and the extra cost associated with their insertion often stopped women from using them. But the devices have become increasingly popular. IUDs, which use copper or hormones to block sperm from fertilizing eggs, are considered safe in part because they do not use the problematic strings that were part of the Dalkon Shield, and a number of physician groups recommend them. And under the 2010 health law, women with insurance are eligible for IUDs without paying out-of-pocket costs.

Almost 12 percent of women who used birth control between 2011 and 2013 chose IUDs, a rate surpassed only by contraceptive pills and condoms, according to a recent analysis by the Guttmacher Institute.

Last fall, the American Academy of Pediatrics for the first time recommended IUDs as a first-line form of contraception for adolescents who have sex, though condoms and the pill are also accepted options. This recommendation builds on support from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which in 2011 termed it the most effective form of birth control and noted that it posed minimal risks. A year later, the group recommended it specifically for teens. Rare problems reported include disruption of menstrual cycles and, in rarer instances, perforation of the uterus. The IUD also can occasionally be expelled by a woman’s body, meaning it no longer prevents pregnancy.

Once inserted, IUDs—which last for years before they need to be removed or replaced—don’t require daily attention. This makes them easier to manage than options such as condoms or daily birth-control pills, which teenagers must remember to use or, in the pill’s case, take on a daily basis. Unlike condoms but like the pill, the IUD doesn’t prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Though the patch is about as effective as an IUD, it requires weekly maintenance and has attracted scrutiny in recent years for potential side effects such as strokes and blood clots.

“So many kids never pick up the pills, or pick up the pills and don’t take them right,” said Melanie Gold, the medical director of Columbia University’s School-Based Health Centers. “Clearly, an IUD is a better choice.”

But even with this relatively recent buzz, a December editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics asserted that pediatricians often aren’t trained in the procedure—making it, experts said, harder for teenage girls to access this form of birth control, unlike adult women, who are more likely to see a gynecologist.

Pediatric residents typically spend only a month studying “adolescent medicine,” which includes contraception.

Julia Potter, a doctor based in New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s pediatric department and a co-author of the editorial, said the instructors who teach the adolescent medicine often aren’t themselves trained in IUD-insertion procedure. Medical residents then may not pick up the skills they would need to provide this birth-control option once they start practicing.