The history of birth control, also known as contraception and fertility control, refers to the methods or devices that have been historically used to prevent pregnancy. Planning and provision of birth control is called family planning. In some times and cultures, abortion had none of the stigma which it has today, making birth control less important.
Ancient world
Ancient Egypt Birth control and abortion are well documented in Ancient Egypt. The Ebers Papyrus from 1550 BC and the Kahun Papyrus from 1850 BC have within them some of the earliest documented descriptions of birth control, the use of honey, acacia leaves and lint to be placed in the vagina to block sperm. Another early document explicitly referring to birth control methods is the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus from about 1850 BC. It describes various contraceptive pessaries, including acacia gum, which recent research has confirmed to have spermatocidal qualities and is still used in contraceptive jellies. Other birth control methods mentioned in the papyrus include the application of gummy substances to cover the "mouth of the womb" (i.e. the cervix), a mixture of honey and sodium carbonate applied to the inside of the vagina, and a pessary made from crocodile dung. Lactation (breast-feeding) of up to three years was also used for birth control purposes in ancient Egypt. The Book of Genesis references withdrawal, or coitus interruptus, as a method of contraception when Onan "spills his seed" (ejaculates) on the ground so as to not father a child with his deceased brother's wife Tamar.
Ancient Greece and Rome
Silphium, a species of giant fennel native to north Africa, may have been used as an oral contraceptive in ancient Greece and the ancient Near East. The plant only grew on a small strip of land near the coastal city of Cyrene (located in modern-day Libya) and all attempts to cultivate it elsewhere resulted in failure. Silphium was primarily used for culinary purposes and its use as a contraceptive is far less documented than its use as a seasoning. Accounts of silphium's contraceptive effectiveness are probably greatly exaggerated. Possibly due to its supposed effectiveness and thus desirability, by the first century AD, it had become so rare that it was worth more than its weight in silver and, by late antiquity, it was fully extinct. Asafoetida, a close relative of siliphion, was also used for its contraceptive properties. Other plants commonly used for birth control in ancient Greece include Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota), willow, date palm, pomegranate, pennyroyal, artemisia, myrrh, and rue. Some of these plants are toxic and ancient Greek documents specify safe dosages. Recent studies have confirmed the birth control properties of many of these plants, confirming for example that Queen Anne's lace has post coital anti-fertility properties. Queen Anne's lace is still used today for birth control in India. According to Norman E. Himes, most methods of birth control used in antiquity were probably ineffective. The single most effective method of birth control known in antiquity was probably coitus interruptus. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (c. 384–322 BC) recommended applying cedar oil to the womb before intercourse. Aristotle had no knowledge of how conception worked and he probably recommended this believing that the oil's smoothness would prevent conception. In actuality, this method may have sometimes been effective because the oil may have gummed up the external os and thereby reduced the motility of the sperm, but effectiveness would have been only occasional and highly variable. A Hippocratic text On the Nature of Women recommended that a woman who did not desire to conceive a child should drink a copper salt dissolved in water, which it claimed would prevent pregnancy for a year. This method is not only ineffective, but also dangerous, as the later medical writer Soranus of Ephesus (c. 98–138 AD) pointed out. Soranus attempted to list reliable methods of birth control. He took a rational approach to this, rejecting the use of superstition and amulets and instead prescribing common-sense mechanical methods such as vaginal plugs and pessaries using wool as a base covered in oils or other gummy substances. According to Himes, many of Soranus's methods were probably also ineffective.
China and India In the 7th century BC, the Chinese physician Master Tung-hsuan documented both coitus reservatus and coitus obstructus, which prevents the release of semen during intercourse. However, it is not known if these methods were used primarily as birth control methods or to preserve the man's yang. In the medieval Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao documented the "thousand of gold contraceptive prescription" for women who no longer want to bear children. This prescription, which was supposed to induce sterility, was made of oil and quicksilver heated together for one day and taken orally. In India, Vatsyayana's classical text (2nd century AD) presented various contraceptive methods including coitus obstructus involving controlling the release of semen.
Ancient Americas Many native plants were utilized and have thus been ingrained into Native American tradition as contraceptives. The Hopi and Tewa tribes are documented to have used the Indian paintbrush (Castilleja linariifolia) as a type of contraceptive. Many forms of the Lithospermum genus have been historically used by the Navajo and Shoshoni tribes. The bitter cherry plant (Prunus emarginata), corn lily (Veratrum californicum), and star-flowered lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum stellatum) were used by a variety of different tribes as a form of contraceptive or sterility inducer. Cinnamon has been used in ancient traditional Mexican medicine as an abortifacient and contraceptive. Nahua women used parts of the plants in the Bignonia and Hameilia genera and those of the shaving brush tree (Pseudobombax ellipticum) in their medical practices as well.
Medieval and early modern period
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