Birth Control Options Are Not EqualUnderstand Your Choices and What it MeansBirth control options can be very confusing - there are just so many choices! The question is what is the right choice for you. If you want have an active sex life and want to prevent or reduce the probability of pregnancy you will learn to make better descision with this article. Conversely, if you plan to abstain from sex until marriage you also will learn more about how your decision will affect your sexual health. Birth control is a hot topic in the USA today - since there is a huge movement for abstinence. Regardless - in the end the choice is yours to make. Just understand that historicall birth control has been a controversial political and ethical issue in many countries and religions around the world.
Personal Considerations: Birth Control OptionsThe best birth control method is the one that fits with your:
What matters most to a person when considering a birth control method will naturally change over time. If you are considering using a birth control method, take a minute and ask yourself the following questions:
Most people will answer "yes" to a few of these questions. But in general, if you had a lot of "yes" answers you may be less likely to use this method correctly every time you have sex. Talk to a health care provider to help you decide whether to use this method or how to use it so that it will be effective for you. Because NO birth control method (except abstinence) is 100% effective, there are other questions you might want to explore:
History of birth control - A lesson in what not to do...Probably the oldest methods of contraception are:
While it seems like the rhythm method would have been a good choice, scientists did not figure out the details of the human menstrual cycle until the early 20th century. Coitus interruptus (withdrawal of the penis from the vagina prior to ejaculation) probably predates any other form of birth control. This is not a particularly reliable method of contraception, as the small amount of fluid secreted prior to ejaculation (pre-ejaculate or "Cowper's fluid") can still contain sperm (this is explained below). However it requires no equipment and is still better than nothing. Folklore has suggested douching immediately following intercourse as a contraceptive method. and while it seems like a sensible idea to try to wash the ejaculate out of the vagina, it does NOT work due to the nature of the fluids and the structure of the female reproductive tract. If anything, douching spreads semen further towards the uterus. Some slight spermicidal effect may occur if the douche solution is particularly acidic, but overall it is NOT an effective method. The reason both withdrawal and douching are usually NOT very effective is that the male ejaculate typically consists of approximately 5ml (1 teaspoon) of fluid carrying in excess of 500,000,000 sperm, of which only 1 is needed to cause reproduction. Thus even a tiny amount of ejaculate can be more than enough. Additionally, prior to ejaculation, a man typically releases small amounts of seminal fluid and sperm ("pre-ejaculate") as a result of becoming sexually aroused, during the erection. It is theorized that pre-ejaculate is in part an attempt by the penis to assist in lubricating the vagina, and as an attempt to reduce the acidity of the female vagina and the male urethra (acidity caused by the usual use of the penis to excrete urine). These small amounts of pre-ejaculate can contain more than 30,000 sperm in each drop, and again, only one sperm is needed to cause impregnation. There are historic records of Egyptian women using a pessary (a vaginal suppository) made of various acidic substances (crocodile dung is alleged) and lubricated with honey or oil, which may have been somewhat effective at killing sperm. However, it is important to note that the sperm cell was not discovered until Anton van Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope in the late 17th century, so barrier methods employed prior to that time could not know of the details of conception. Oriental women may have used oiled paper as a cervical cap, and Europeans may have used beeswax for this purpose. The condom appeared sometime in the 17th century, initially made of a length of animal intestine. It was not particularly popular, nor as effective as modern latex condoms, but was employed both as a means of contraception and in the hopes of avoiding syphilis, which was greatly feared and devastating prior to the discovery of antibiotic drugs. Various abortifacients (something that induces abortion) have been used throughout human history. Some of these were effective, some were not; those that were most effective also had major side effects. The ingestion of certain poisons by the female can disrupt the reproductive system; women have drunk solutions containing mercury, arsenic, or other toxic substances for this purpose. The Greek gynaecologist Soranus in the 2nd century AD suggested that women drink water that blacksmiths had used to cool metal. The herbs tansy and pennyroyal are well-known in folklore as abortive agents, but these also "work" by poisoning the woman. Levels of the active chemicals in these herbs that will induce a miscarriage are high enough to damage the liver, kidneys, and other organs, making them very dangerous. However, in those times where risk of maternal death from postpartum complications was high, the risks and side effects of toxic medicines may have seemed less onerous. It is also believed that black cohosh tea will also be effective in certain cases as an abortifacient. There are references in Arabic history to traders inserting a small stone into the uterus of a camel in order to prevent it from conceiving, a concept very similar to the modern IUD, but it seems unlikely that this was used as a contraceptive method for humans since knowledge of the female reproductive tract was very limited until the 20th century, and surgical techniques were poor. Oral contraceptives did not appear until the mid-20th century, when scientists better understood the process of conception and advances in biochemistry allowed for the isolation (and later synthesis) of the hormones controlling the cycle.
Traditional birth control methods
Modern birth controlBarrier birth control methods
Other birth control methods
Condoms and herbal birth control methods existed before the modern era. The herbal methods were of various degrees of efficacy, and were available in China and Europe.
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