Though it was not until 1677 when Anthony van Leeuwenhoek discovered sperm by examining semen samples and unraveled our understanding of conception in the process, people had already been practicing birth control methods for centuries, Some methods depended on preventing the passage of sperm into the cervix, some resembled a primitive condom, and some were fanciful potions that may have done more harm than good.
Stop the sperm!
One of the earliest guides to birth control can be found in the Ebers Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical text dating back to 1550 B.C. It prescribed an ancient contraceptive suppository made of seed wool soaked with a sticky mixture of acacia, crushed dates and honey, to be placed into a woman’s vulva to prevent pregnancy for up to three years. As for the Greeks, in the fourth century they used olive oil and honey as spermicides.
As primitive as these ideas seem, modern scientific studies have suggested that some of these contraception methods could be effective. Gum from the acacia tree could have broken down into lactic acid, a spermicide often found in some of today’s contraceptive jellies. Honey was also likely to reduce sperm’s mobility.
Women in ancient times ingeniously used materials native to their habitat-crushed roots from Western Africa, bamboo tissue from Japan, seaweed and algae from the coast of Easter Island-as vaginal suppositories to physically block the entry of sperm. Even animal excrement, such as elephant and crocodile dung, was used as vaginal plugs in India and Egypt 3,000 years ago. The acidic properties of the dung could very well work as a spermicide.
The ancient rubber
The most well known form of contraceptive today-the condom-was initially a linen sheath soaked in an herbal mixture.
This first condom was described by Gabriel Fallopius, the Italian anatomist who gave the famous Fallopian tubes his name. The original purpose of a contraceptive sheath was to protect against syphilis, but it was not long before people discovered that it was also an effective means to prevent pregnancy. In the early 1800s, animal intestines, fish bladders and oiled skins became the equivalents of modern condoms. The intestines were washed, soaked, stretched and a small ribbon was attached to prevent slippage.
One of the greatest revolutions in condom production came in the 1850’s with Charles Goodyear’s vulcanization technology, which renders natural rubber into its soft and malleable form by the addition of sulphur and heat. It is also protected the material from becoming brittle in cold temperatures or soft in warm temperatures. Soon vulcanized rubber was used to manufacture a whole range of contraceptives such as condoms, intrauterine devices and diaphragms.
Pills and potions
The invention of the modern oral contraceptive was preceded by a long tradition of potions and concoctions. While the effects (if any) of these recipes are still mostly unknown, the formulas range from bizarre to poisonous, including brews of dried beaver testicles to drinks of lead and mercury.
Luckily, details about the hormones involved in the menstrual cycle began to emerge by the 1940s. Progesterone, which is secreted after ovulation to thicken the endometrium, remains present in high levels after fertilization of the egg and prevents the pituitary gland from sending the signals necessary for ovulation. Scientists also realized that extra doses of progesterone could prevent ovulation and “fool” the body into thinking it is pregnant. However, progesterone was difficult and costly to extract from slaughtered animals.
Enter Russell Marker, a chemist at Penn State University who had devised a method-“The Marker Degradation”-to derive progresterone from plants. Using the wild Mexican yam known as cabeza de negro, which was already eaten by Mexican tribes to prevent pregnancy, Marker was able to cheaply mass-produce progesterone. Although his form of progesterone was ineffective orally, it had laid the foundation for the creation of a hormonal birth control.
In the 1950’s, an oral form of synthetic progesterone was created, independently by Carl Djerassi and Frank Colton. This form of the hormone, along with estrogen, are the major ingredients in “The Pill” we all know today.
