A History of Birth Control Methods

Report Published by the Katharine Dexter McCormick Library and the Education Division of Planned Parenthood Federation of America 434 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001 212-261-4716 www.plannedparenthood.org Current as of January 2012 A History of Birth Control Methods Contemporary studies show that, out of a list of eight somewhat effective — though not always safe or reasons for having sex, having a baby is the least practical (Riddle, 1992). frequent motivator for most people (Hill, 1997). This seems to have been true for all people at all times. Planned Parenthood is very proud of the historical Ever since the dawn of history, women and men role it continues to play in making safe and effective have wanted to be able to decide when and whether family planning available to women and men around to have a child. Contraceptives have been used in the world — from 1916, when Margaret Sanger one form or another for thousands of years opened the first birth control clinic in America; to throughout human history and even prehistory. In 1950, when Planned Parenthood underwrote the fact, family planning has always been widely initial search for a superlative oral contraceptive; to practiced, even in societies dominated by social, 1965, when Planned Parenthood of Connecticut won political, or religious codes that require people to “be the U.S. Supreme Court victory, Griswold v. fruitful and multiply” — from the era of Pericles in Connecticut (1965), that finally and completely rolled ancient Athens to that of Pope Benedict XVI, today back state and local laws that had outlawed the use (Blundell, 1995; Himes, 1963; Pomeroy, 1975; Wills, of contraception by married couples; to today, when 2000). Planned Parenthood continues leading the family planning movement by successfully defending and Of course, the methods used before the 20th century expanding women’s reproductive rights and options were not always as safe or effective as those against those who would diminish them (Chesler, available today. Centuries ago, Chinese women 1992). drank lead and mercury to control fertility, which often resulted in sterility or death (Skuy, 1995). The following brief histories illustrate only a few of During the Middle Ages in Europe, magicians the many ways that women and men throughout advised women to wear the testicles of a weasel on history and across cultures attempted to enjoy their their thighs or hang its amputated foot from around sexual relationships with one another while planning their necks (Lieberman, 1973). Other amulets of the their families responsibly. time were wreaths of herbs, desiccated cat livers or shards of bones from cats (but only the pure black ones), flax lint tied in a cloth and soaked in Behavioral Methods menstrual blood, or the anus of a hare. It was also Many of the earliest methods of family planning were believed that a woman could avoid pregnancy by based on sexual behavior and are still used by walking three times around the spot where a millions of women and men around the world. pregnant wolf had urinated. In more recent New Brunswick, Canada, women drank a potion of dried CAUTION: This history of contraceptive practices beaver testicles brewed in a strong alcohol solution. describes many traditional procedures and And, as recently as the 1990s, teens in Australia substances that have been used for preventing have used candy bar wrappers as condoms (Skuy, pregnancy but that are not recommended by 1995). Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Many of them may cause injury and/or fail to Perhaps more surprising than such often bizarre and totally ineffective methods is that modern science prevent pregnancy. For a complete list of the has revealed many other ancient methods, contraceptive options currently offered at Planned especially certain herbal treatments, to be actually Parenthood health centers, visit www.plannedparenthood.org. 2 People who have few other alternatives most often Ribbon Campaign, in which men who vowed to be use these methods. But some people who have pure sported white ribbons on their lapels (D’Emilio access to the latest advances in contraceptive & Freedman, 1988). technology also prefer many of these ancient methods. For thousands of years, abstinence, One of the major arguments for teen abstinence mutual pleasuring without intercourse ⎯ today is the avoidance of unintended pregnancy. At outercourse — withdrawal, predicting fertility, and various times in the past, younger girls were able to breast-feeding were used by our ancestors to have sex play that included vaginal intercourse prevent unintended pregnancy. They still play without risking pregnancy because menarche did not important roles in family planning today. occur until later adolescence (Sanfilippo & Hertweck, 1998). The dramatic fall in the average age of Continuous Abstinence menarche during the last century is one of the Many Stone-Age people had no idea where babies reasons for the recent rise in teen pregnancy in the came from. Some thought that the spirits of children western world (Hrdy, 1999). In the Middle Ages, the lived in certain fruits, and that pregnancy was average age for menarche was probably around 20. caused by eating the fruit. Others held the sun, In other words, no matter how passionate young wind, rain, moon, or stars responsible for causing teenagers such as Romeo and Juliet got, it is pregnancy ⎯ many considered sea foam particularly unlikely that they could have “gotten in trouble” potent (Jensen, 1982). Pregnancy was a magical (Aries, 1962). event. Abstinence as a method of family planning never occurred to those who believed that But by 1840, the average age for menarche had reproduction was magic. dropped to between 17 and 18. And today the average age that girls have their first period is 12.5! But abstinence, for women in particular, was very Physiologists believe that earlier menarche is related important for ancient people who understood the to better nutrition as well as genetic and connection between vaginal intercourse and environmental factors (Sanfilippo & Hertweck, 1998). reproduction. After menarche ⎯ the time of their first menstrual periods — women in many cultures Sexual activity among teens and preteens has were expected to be abstinent (Sherfley, 1966). In occurred throughout history, regardless of social this way, their future husbands could be sure of the taboo. Modern girls have an equally normal interest paternity of their children. Throughout history, in exploring their sexuality, but they are much more assuring men of their paternity has been the driving likely to “get caught” by having an unintended force behind the need for virgin brides and for pregnancy if they have vaginal intercourse without keeping women out of public life (Fisher, 1992). protection. Ironically, these same forces are the foundations of the sexual double standard and the proliferation of Outercourse prostitution in most cultures (Bullough & Bullough, Augustine of Hippo (350–430 C.E.), an influential 1987) bishop of the early Christian church, taught that masturbation and other alternatives to penile-vaginal Abstinence for birth control within marriage was the intercourse — outercourse — were worse sins than agenda of the Voluntary Motherhood Movement that fornication, rape, incest, and adultery. He argued was promoted in America during the 1870s by that masturbation and other nonreproductive sexual feminists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and activities were “unnatural” sins because they were Susan B. Anthony (D’Emilio & Freedman, 1988). contraceptive. Since fornication, rape, incest, and Suffragists believed that husbands as well as wives adultery could lead to pregnancy, they were “natural” should just do without sex altogether in order to sins and much less serious than “unnatural” sins control the size of their families (Abbott, 2000; (Ranke-Heinemann, 1990). D’Emilio & Freedman, 1988; McLaren, 1990). While Augustine was compelling all the married Abstinence for birth control among married women, clergy in his diocese to give up their spouses and however, led to even greater reliance on prostitution live celibately in monasteries (Ranke-Heinemann, by married men, which in turn, led to epidemics of 1990), Mallinaga Vatsayayana, in faraway India, was sexually transmitted infections by the turn of the 20th writing the world’s greatest literary celebration of century (Brandt, 1985; Bullough & Bullough, 1987). procreative and nonprocreative sex play ⎯ the In response to the proliferation of prostitution and Kama Sutra, the most complete encyclopedia of sex sexually transmitted infection during 1885, the practices in the ancient world. Women’s Temperance Movement, which was dedicated to uplift men to women’s sexual Written in 400 C.E., Vatsyayana’s Kama Sutra is a standards, i.e., abstinence, launched a White recapitulation of the Kama Shastras that describes 3 “erotic practice” as one of the three aims of life for Withdrawal ancient Hindus in India (Daniélou, 1994). The There are two types of withdrawal. Coitus Shastras were already 2,000 years old when interruptus is the Latin name for withdrawal with Vatsyayana wrote them in Hindi. More than a ejaculation taking place afterwards. Coitus thousand years later, the Kama Sutra would reach reservatus is the Latin name for withdrawal without across the centuries and have a major impact on us. ejaculation. Both have been used since ancient times for contraception and for other reasons The first English translation of the Kama Sutra was (Bullough & Bullough, 1990). privately published by Sir Richard Burton and discreetly circulated among the members of the According to the Book of Genesis, the biblical British Kama Sutra Society in 1883. The first character Onan incurred God’s wrath by using coitus popular publication of this manual for intercourse, interruptus instead of following local custom and foreplay, and outercourse, which was published in impregnating his sister-in-law after the death of his the U.S. during the 1960s, became the bible for the brother. Instead he “spilled his seed on the ground.” sexual revolution of that time (Burton, 1991).

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