Pregnancy prevention around the world has a lengthy history that includes many effective yet sometimes lethal methods of early contraception. Women and men have long tried many methods to prevent pregnancy. Prior to modern methods of birth control, women relied on withdrawal or periodic abstinence.
Early contraceptive options offered an array of colorful, creative (and in some cases, incredibly smelly) choices that included innovative options in barrier devices, spermicides, and oral contraceptives.
- The first recorded birth control is dated at 11,000 B.C.
- Ancient cave paintings depict sex with condoms made of hand-crafted animal skin.
- To prevent pregnancy in ancient Greece aristotle suggested women coat their vaginas with olive-oil.
- The women of Easter Island used algae and kelp to cover their cervix during sex.
- Ancient camel drivers put stones in the camel's uterus on long trips. This pratice inspired the modern I.U.D.
- Ancient Aztec women ate wild yams to prevent pregnancy. Birth control pills include progesterone from wild yams.
- Casanova experimented with lemons as cervical caps.
- 1843: Rubber condoms were mass produced. After Charles Goodyear discovered a process to make rubber more durable.
- In 1960, DFA approved the birth control pill!
- What will the future of birth control hold?
- 757 views
