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Birth Control

The practice of birth control prevents

conception, thus limiting reproduction. The term

birth control, coined by Margaret SANGER in

1914, usually refers specifically to methods of

contraception, including STERILIZATION. The

terms family planning and planned parenthood

have a broader application. METHODS OF

BIRTH CONTROL Attempts to control fertility

have been going on for thousands of years.

References to preventing conception are found in

the writings of priests, philosophers, and

physicians of ancient Egypt and Greece. Some

methods, though crude, were based on sound

ideas. For example, women were advised to put

honey, olive oil, or oil of cedar in their vaginas to

act as barriers. The stickiness of these substances

was thought to slow the movement of sperm into

the uterus. Wads of soft wool soaked in lemon

juice or vinegar were used as tampons, in the

belief that they would make the vagina sufficiently

acidic to kill the sperm. The Talmud mentions

using a piece of sponge to block the cervix, the

entrance to the uterus. Sperm Blockage Several

modern methods of birth control are practiced by

creating a barrier between the sperm and the egg

cell. This consists of the use of a chemical foam, a

cream, or a suppository. Each contains a

chemical, or spermicide that stops sperm. They

are not harmful to vaginal tissue. Each must be

inserted shortly before COITUS. Foams are

squirted from aerosol containers with nozzles or

from applicators that dispense the correct amount

of foam and spread it over the cervix; creams and

jellies are squeezed from tubes and held in place

by a diaphragm or other device; and

suppositories--small waxy pellets melted by body

heat--are inserted by hand. More effective at

keeping sperm and egg apart are mechanical

barriers such as the diaphragm and cervical cap

(both used with a spermicide), the sponge, and the

condom. A...