This is Women's History Month and a good time to look at the history of contraception. You may think that birth control began with the “Sexual Revolution” of the 1960s, but contraception has been a part of life for thousands of years, and includes many innovations that have occurred in the last decade. Here's a timeline of some of the milestones of contraception:
3000 B.C. – Condoms are made from materials such as fish bladders, linen sheaths, and animal intestines.
1500 – The first spermicides use condoms made from linen cloth soaked in a chemical solution and dried before using.
1838 – Condoms and diaphragms are made from vulcanized rubber.
1873 – Federal law prohibits advertisements, information, and distribution of birth control in the United States and allows confiscation of birth control sold through the mail.
1916 – Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in the United States. In a 1938 case involving Sanger, the federal ban on birth control was lifted, and diaphragms became a popular method of birth control.
1960 – Enovid, the first oral contraceptive known as “The Pill,” is marketed in the United States as a method of birth control.
1965 – The U.S. Supreme Court establishes the right of married couples to use birth control.
1960s – Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are first manufactured and marketed in the United States.
1970 – The safety of oral contraceptives is the subject of congressional hearings because of concerns about serious health risks. The debate leads to creation of a lower-dose “Pill.”
1972 – The U.S. Supreme Court legalizes birth control for all citizens, regardless of marital status.
1992 – The FDA approves Depo-Provera, the first hormone shot to prevent pregnancy for several months at a time.
2000 to 2002 – New birth control products are introduced, including a birth-control patch, a vaginally inserted ring, and an intrauterine device that is effective for five years.
2006 – The introduction a small, thin hormonal contraceptive implanted in the skin of a woman's arm to prevent pregnancy for up to three years.
2007 – The FDA approves the first low-dose contraceptive pill that gives a woman the option to stop her menstrual cycle.
