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The earliest method of birth control was mention in the Bible in the book of Genesis. This method was commonly used throughout ancient civilizations (Public Broadcasting Service and Quarini, 2005)

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The Talmud, a Jewish text, describes inserting sponges soaked in vinegar into the vagina to prevent pregnancy. Many other ancient societies used objects inserted into the vagina in order to prevent pregnancy (Katharine Dexter, 2012).

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Hippocrates instructed on various recipes that would induce menstruation as a way to prevent pregnancy (Katherine Dexter, 2012)

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Aristotle suggested using various chemicals, such as cedar oil, lead ointments, and frankincense oil, as spermicides (PBS).

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Pliny the Elder tells his readers that in order to avoid pregnancy, they should abstain from sex. This statement makes Pliny one of the first advocates for abstinence (PBS).

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Peter of Spain, who would go on to become Pope John XXI, wrote the Thesaurus Pauperum, a book that contained recipes for contraceptives. Many of these recipes were widely use and effective (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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The oldest condom in existence dates back to this year and was found in a castle in England. It was made out of animal intestines (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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African and Native American women would base their decisions of when to have sex based on the quality of their cervical mucus. This allowed them to avoid or plan pregnancies (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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Casanova would use condoms made out of animal intestines (Quarini, 2005) and linen. He was also know to use lemons as an early version of a cervical cap and insert a small gold ball soaked in an alkaline solution into the vagina to prevent pregnancy (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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Charles Knowlton, a physician from Massachusetts, invented a birth control solution that would be inserted into the vagina after sex. This solution may contain salt, vinegar, liquid chloride, zinc sulfite, or aluminum potassium sulfite. This was known as douching (PBS).

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Friedriche Wilde, a German doctor, invented a small cap that could be used to cover the cervix between periods. This is seen as the precursor to the diaphragm (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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Rubber condoms began to be mass produced following Charles Goodyear's invention of vulcanized rubber (Katherine Dexter, 2012)

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The British medical association was able to list 123 different pessaries that were used. Pessaries are objects that are inserted into the vagina to prevent pregnancy. The most commonly used one in the US was a sponge covered by a silk bag (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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The Voluntary Motherhood Movement promoted abstinence within marriages as a way to control family size. This lead to an increase in STIs due to married men seeking out prostitutes (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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On March 2nd, the Comstock law was passed that declared that contraceptives are obscene. Contraceptives were no longer allowed to be sent through the postal service, severely limiting women's access to birth control (PBS).

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Confiscating Your Valentines: Anthony Comstock

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Dr. Wilhelm Mensinga invented a larger cervical cap, which will later be known as the diaphragm (PBS).

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Margaret Sanger, an advocate for birth control, opens the first birth control clinic on October 16th in Brooklyn, New York. The clinic was raided and shut down 10 days later. Sanger had many previous experiences with Comstock Laws as she frequently tried to disseminate contraceptives and information regarding contraceptive use (PBS).

*It is important to note that Sanger is now heavily criticized due to her support of eugenics.*

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Margaret Sanger - Feminist | Mini Bio | BIO

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Scientists in both Japan and Austria created the rhythm method for birth control. This involved tracking monthly cycles and abstaining from sex during the fertile period of the cycle (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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Sanger opens the 1st legal birth control clinic. This followed the Crane decision that declared that birth control can be used for therapeutic purposes (PBS).

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Ernst Grafenberg, a German physician, created the G ring IUD. It is widely used and effective (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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John Rock, a professor at Harvard, opens the 1st rhythm clinic in Boston. Rock is also known for teaching medical students about birth control, which was illegal at the time, and asking the state of Massachusetts to allow physicians to supervise patients on birth control (PBS).

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Condoms become the most popular form of birth control. Many states still restrict the sale of contraceptive devices (PBS).

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Gregory Pincus and John Rock begin the first human test of a progesterone pill backed by funding from Katharine McCormick. Rock and Pincus develop the 21 day on, 7 day off routine that many pills still follow today in order to make the pill seem similar to "regular" menstruation (PBS).

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Rock and Pincus begin a large scale trial of the pill from a drug company called Searle in San Juan. The pills being sent to Rock and Pincus were accidentally contaminated with estrogen, leading to the development of the combination pill that is often used today (PBS).

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No Babies! Gregory Pincus and the Birth Control Pill

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The FDA approves the pill tested by Rock and Pincus, called Enovid. It is approved for use in severe menstrual disorders but the label on the drug must stated that is prevents ovulation. Unsurprisingly, half a million women in the US develop menstrual disorders and begin taking Enovid (PBS)

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Enovid is approved by the FDA for birth control purposes. It is approved in lower 2.5 mg and 5 mg doses (PBS).

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Jack Lippes creates the Lippes Loop IUD. It is still used outside of the US (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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8 years after the approval of the first pill, there are now over 12 million women using the pill and 7 different pills to choose from (PBS).

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After urging by feminist groups and women's health groups, the FDA orders that all birth control pills must include a list of possible side effect after reports of blood clots and cancer related to the pill (PBS).

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DMPA is made available for contraceptive use worldwide. It is not available in the US until 1992 when Depo-Provera is approved (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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The Today sponge is introduced in the US. It blocks sperm from the cervix and contains spermicide to kill sperm (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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Norplant, a progesterone implant, is approved for use by WHO. It is not approved in the US until 1990 (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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Contraceptive Implants - 11 - Procedure: Insert implant

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The FDA requests that all drug companies remove high dose birth control pills from the market, due to the increased risk of blood clots associated with these pills (PBS).

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The ParaGard Copper IUD is released into US markets (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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The first female condom, the Reality condom, is released to the market (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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FDA approves the first emergency contraception, the Preven EC kit, which uses the Yuzpe regime of using birth control pills for emergency contraception (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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The FDA approves Plan B for emergency contraception (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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The Science of 'Plan B' - Emergency Contraception

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The Mirena IUD, which uses progesterone and levonorgestrel to prevent pregnancy, is released (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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FDA approved the Implanon which combines progestin and etonogestrel for pregnancy prevention. It is effective for 3 years (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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Ella, which uses ulipristal acetate, is approved for emergency contraceptive use. It is prescription only. It is more effective than other emergency contraceptives for people over 155 pounds (Katherine Dexter, 2012).

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In recent years, there have been new contraceptive methods that were approved in the US. Annovera is a long lasting vaginal ring that is inserted into the vagina for 3 weeks, then removed for 1 week. It can be used for up to 1 year.
Phexxi is a sperm killing gel that is better for the vagina that previous gels. It is inserted into the vagina 1 hour before sex in order to kill sperm (Key, 2021).

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There are many different contraceptive options that people can choose from. There are barrier methods, such as diaphragms, male and female condoms, and cervical caps. There are hormonal methods, such as hormonal IUDs, the implant, the shot, the pill, the ring, and the patch. People can also choose to use Copper IUDs. People can also choose other methods, such as fertility awareness, abstinence, and the withdrawal method. Sterilization is a permanent option that people of all sexes can choose. Additionally, there are several emergency contraception options available (Find Your Method, 2021).

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There are several possibilities being considered to improve the future of birth control. One of the largest areas of study is for a male birth control options to allow men to bear some of the burden of birth control. There is push back because of potential side effects. Many believe the lack of funding, due to societies view of male birth control, will prevent male birth control from being developed. Several potential option may exist for male birth control, such as Gamendazole (impacts sperm production), Clean Sheet (relaxes the muscles of the vas deferens to prevent release of sperm), and Vasalgel (gel that is inserted into the vas deferens to block release of sperm).
Another option that is being studied for female birth control is the Fertility Chip. This chip can release levonorgestrel for 16 years but can be turned off remotely to allow women to become pregnant at any time (Tidy, 2017).

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Why Male Birth Control Is So Hard To Make

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Find your method. Find Your Birth Control Method 2021 | Power to Decide. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://powertodecide.org/sexual-health/your-sexual-health/find-your-method.

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Katharine Dexter McCormick Library and the Education Division of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. (2012). History of BC methods - planned parenthood. Planned Parenthood. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/2613/9611/6275/History_of_BC_Methods.pdf.

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Key, A. P. (2021, April 9). New and future birth control options. WebMD. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/birth-control-latest-research.

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Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). A timeline of contraception. PBS. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-timeline/.

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Quarini, C. A. (2006, October 30). History of
contraception. Women's Health Medicine. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1744187006000874?via%3Dihub.

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Tidy, C. (2017, November 7). Contraception of the future: Male pills and female condoms. Patient.info. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://patient.info/news-and-features/whats-the-future-of-contraception.