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Birth Control in the 20th century
Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical harvester, is diagnosed with schizophrenia. His wife, Katherine, dreads passing on the mental illness to future children. Later she forms a partnership with birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger. She funds contraception research with her sizeable fortune. This work eventually leads to the development of the birth control pill. -
Condoms
Condoms become legal in the U.S. Troops fighting in World War I ignored official Army advice to abstain from sex. They obtained condoms overseas -- and brought them home. -
Birth rates drop
In the 1920s, the U.S. birth rate drops by half. Condom reliability is still terrible by modern standards, but people achieved effective birth control by combining condoms, the rhythm method, male withdrawal, diaphragms, and/or intrauterine devices. -
Birth Control 1930-1960
The most popular female contraceptive is Lysol disinfectant. Ads tout it as a feminine hygiene product, with testimonials from prominent European "doctors." Later investigation by the American Medical Association showed that these experts did not exist. Despite its longstanding popularity, Lysol does not work as a contraceptive. -
Research into the pill
Katherine McCormick funds Gregory Pincus's research into developing an oral contraceptive. Luckily two drug companies, Syntex and Searle, each developed a form of synthetic progesterone. They allow Pincus to explore use of this female hormone in his work. -
The first birth control pill
The Searle drug company receives FDA approval for Enovid - the first birth control pill. "The Pill" revolutionizes contraception. It's 100% effective -- but has terrible side effects, including life-threatening blood clots. Eventually it's realized that the dose is 10 times too high. -
A T-shaped IUD is approved by the FDA
A T-shaped IUD is approved by the FDA, and other designs follow. These devices are inserted by doctors and provide birth control for up to 10 years. They fall out of favor after one - the Dalkon Shield - is found to cause pelvic inflammatory disease in some women. -
The Shot
The FDA approves the first hormone shot to prevent pregnancy for several months at a time -- Depo Provera -
2000-2002
Four new birth control products are approved by the FDA - the first in a decade. Ortho Evra, a birth control "patch," slowly releases hormones through the skin, freeing women from a daily pill. NuvaRing, a small, flexible ring as big as a silver dollar, is inserted into the vagina and releases hormones for three weeks. Lunelle is a monthly hormone injection. Mirena is an IUD effective for 5 years; it also causes lighter periods for most women. -
The everyday pill
The first continuous birth control pill, which women take every day to suppress their periods and provide birth control, was approved in September. Seasonale schedules four menstrual periods a year. Researchers are working on other pills that would schedule one menstrual period a year.
