A family planning facility in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.

Birth control, sometimes synonymous with contraception, is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or childbirth. "Contraception" may refer specifically to mechanisms that are intended to reduce the likelihood of a sperm cell fertilizing the egg. Birth control is commonly used as part of family planning.

The history of birth control began with the discovery of the connection between coitus and pregnancy. The oldest forms of birth control included coitus interruptus, pessaries, and the ingestion of herbs that were believed to be contraceptive or abortifacient. The earliest record of birth control use is an Ancient Egyptian set of instructions on creating a contraceptive pessary.

Different methods of birth control have varying characteristics. Condoms, for example, are the only methods that provide significant protection from sexually transmitted diseases. Cultural and religious attitudes on birth control vary significantly.

 

Probably the oldest methods of contraception (aside from sexual abstinence) are coitus interruptus, lactational, certain barrier methods, and herbal methods (emmenagogues and abortifacients).

Coitus interruptus (withdrawal of the penis from the vagina prior to ejaculation) probably predates any other form of birth control. Once the relationship between the emission of semen into the vagina and pregnancy was known or suspected, some men began to use this technique. This is not a particularly reliable method of contraception, as few men have the self-control to correctly practice the method at every single act of sexual intercourse.^[1] Although it is commonly believed that pre-ejaculate fluid can cause pregnancy, modern research has shown that pre-ejaculate fluid does not contain viable sperm.^[2][3]

There are historic records of Egyptian women using a pessary (a vaginal suppository) made of various acidic substances and lubricated with honey or oil, which may have been somewhat effective at killing sperm.^[4] 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. Asian 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 have been used throughout human history. Some of them were effective, some were not; those that were most effective also had major side effects. One abortifacient reported to have low levels of side effects — silphium — was harvested to extinction around the 1st century.