Since the beginning of time, women have been looking for reliable ways to choose when they have children. Birth control has been around a long time, although many premodern methods were unreliable at best. Here's a short survey of birth control methods throughout the ages.

Male withdrawal has always been a trick that women have used to keep from getting pregnant. The trouble is, it relies on the male partner's ability to withdraw before ejaculation, and even then, it's not foolproof. Sperm can be present before ejaculation, and can cause pregnancy even if everything goes well. Therefore, other methods have had to be introduced.

The condom has been around since antiquity. The earliest versions were made from sewn sheep, goat, or other animal intestine, and effectively prevented pregnancy. These were washed and reused repeatedly. However, many men, as today, did not want to use condoms, and they did not prevent most sexually transmitted infections.

Pessaries, or vaginal suppositories, have been documented back as far as Ancient Egypt. These rely on the introduction of a substance that kills sperm before it reaches the uterus. The effectiveness of and materials used in pessaries varied widely. The most effective were probably those made with vinegar, since an acid environment kills sperm cells. Other recipes included substances like honey and animal dung, which probably didn't work well, and introduced the possibility of vaginal infections.

Women have also used abortion as a method of birth control throughout the ages. This is usually traumatic to the body, and can be unreliable. In addition, many abortifacients have serious side effects. Poisonous herbs like tansy and pennyroyal can damage the liver and kidneys, for instance.

The use of objects in the uterus, such as small stones, to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg is documented in animals in the Greek period. However, there is little to no evidence that these primitive IUDs were used in humans at this time.

Women also used many folkloric and magical methods to try to prevent pregnancy. For instance, in 200 A.D., the Greek physician Soranus recommended that women should drink water that blacksmiths had quenched metal in, or jump backward seven times after intercourse if they wanted to prevent pregnancy. He also felt that ovulation occurred during menstruation and believed women to be most fertile at that time. Modern medicine, on the other hand, tells us that ovulation occurs at the opposite end of the cycle – two weeks later!

Most of these birth control methods persisted, with little variation, up until the early 19th century. In the 1838, the first major advance in condoms occurred when these devices were made from vulcanized rubber. Diaphrams – barrier methods meant to be worn inside the vagina, near the cervix, were also made of this substance.

However, the 19th century was a period in which birth control became a sin. Prior to this period, the practice of choosing when to have a child was preached against, but also widely practiced. 1873's Comstock Act, on the other hand, actually prohibited teaching others to use birth control, advertising it, selling it, or even giving it away. Sending birth control methods or information through the mail meant that the postal service could confiscate them.

In 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic within the United States. She was convicted, within a year, of maintaining a public nuisance, and jailed for thirty days. Once she was released, the clinic reopened. Sanger continued to distribute information, despite persecution and additional arrests. It wasn't until 1938, in a case involving Sanger, that the Comstock Law was repealed. Diaphragms became popular methods of birth control after this.

The development of birth control pills, or “the Pill,” marked a big change in birth control and in women's sexuality. Containing progesterone and estrogen, these pills stopped ovulation. They became widespread in the 1960s, and are considered to be a big factor in the sexual revolution. However, early pills had side effects – the high doses of hormones in these pills may have been responsible for many users developing breast cancer later in life. Modern pills do not have this problem, but shouldn't be taken by women who smoke, because they significantly increase the risk of heart disease in these people. The Pill also does not provide protection against disease.

Intrauterine devices also became popular in the 1960s and 1970s. However, a model from the late 1970s, the Dalkon Shield, caused Pelvic Inflammatory Disease to develop in many users due to a serious design flaw. Because of this, IUDs became perceived as untrustworthy. Modern IUD designs do not suffer from this problem, and neither did designs other than the Dalkon Shield. However, it can still be difficult to find a doctor willing to prescribe and insert an IUD. They are still given primarily to women who have already had children.

Permanent contraception – getting one's tubes tied – also became more popular in the 1970s. However, many women who underwent this procedure later changed their minds. Reversal of tubal ligation is possible, but expensive and difficult. This means it can be hard to get access to this option as well.

As awareness of AIDS, the only untreatable sexually transmitted disease, spread in the 1980s and 1990s, many women became unwilling to trust only birth control pills. Condoms became much more popular than before, since they provided a reliable barrier against AIDS and other infections. The female condom was developed in the late 1990s. Polyurethane versions were also developed for sufferers of latex allergies.

Also in the 1990s, plethoras of hormonal birth control methods were developed. These included timed-release implants, injections, and low dose birth control. As of 1992, emergency birth control became available to the public. However, it remained poorly known for some time.

Today, there are many options open to women who want to control their fertility. From the ancient diaphragm, IUD, and condom, to more recent developments such as implants, injectables, vaginal rings, and the plethora of different types of birth control pill, women have much to choose from. There's still a disappointing lack of birth control methods that also prevent infection, however. Women who are concerned about this risk can choose from many different types of condom. Other methods, however, are ineffective against this problem. By educating ourselves about all the different options available, we can choose the birth control method that's right for each of us. That's a lot more than women of the past had available.