KissMeGoodnight
Article Series: Birth Control
What Are My Birth Control Options?
Birth
Control: A Brief History
Here's a brief look at the history of birth
control. Although pills are very much in demand to avoid getting
pregnant for women, these are also causing quite a stir.
The reason for this is because birth control pills are known
for one side effect. More and more women are complaining
that the pills cause them to gain weight. For the ladies who use
the pill just to avoid the risk of pregnancy, this is definitely
not a good news.
When
a woman gains weight because of the pill, it causes her to
look at the other options. But not everybody is affected
by this kind of side effect. Some women don't have weight issues
regarding the use of birth control pills.
But
for the women who are prone to such effects, there are other
forms of birth control that they can choose to use. They
can go the natural way or the rhythm method. This is where
the partners will become involved in a sexual act only when
the female is not fertile. Not easy to do, though!
There are methods that are being injected and inserted to
the women's genitals to obtain same effect as the pills. And
among the popular ones is through the use of condoms. Nowadays,
both men and women have condoms suited for their private parts.
The
History
The
oldest form of birth control is sexual abstinence.
But aside from it, the withdrawal effect can
also be considered
as one. Coined as the coitus interruptus, this means that the penis
of a man will withdraw from the woman's genitals before the
ejaculation. This prevents him from transmitting into the lady
or his partner any vital sperm that may cause pregnancy. But
this requires a lot of self control on the part of men.
It
was also believed that Egyptian women used suppositories
for their vaginas. The term for this type is
pessary.
This contains oil and other lubricants that will kill the sperm
once the woman becomes involved in a sexual act.
The
equivalent of today's female condoms of the time is a cervical
cap (which Asian women used). This is like oiled paper. And
for the same goal, Europeans have used beeswax. It was not
until the 17th century that a condom was invented. When it
was first introduced, it wasn't as popular as today. And it
was intended not only to avoid the risk of pregnancy but also
to avoid acquiring sexually transmitted disease like syphilis.
Throughout
human history, various abortifacients have
been used. But the effects vary and those that were
proven effective caused a lot of side effects. In the developing
years, the herbal medium was used to act as a contraceptive.
The
20th century introduced the rhythm method or the natural
way. It is still being applied today and can be as effective
as the birth control pills but will also require a heck of
a lot of self-control
from both concerning partners.
In 1960, the FDA approved the pill that is now known as birth
control. It was in 1972 that the pill became available for
married ladies and singles ones who are over the age of 21.
This was part of the 26th Amendment.
This
brief history of birth control shows you its popularity through
time. Although it is also known to cause weight gain,
people rely on one or two types in hopes of not risking getting
pregnant at the time that they are still not
ready for it.
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KissMeGoodnight.com
: 2008
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