The Birth Control Pill

The ?birth control pill,? more commonly known as ?the pill,? is a form of contraception [4] taken daily in pill form and consisting of synthetic hormones [5] formulated to prevent ovulation [6], fertilization [7], and implantation [8] of a fertilized egg [9]. The US Food and Drug Administration [10] (FDA) approved the first birth control [11] pill, Enovid [12], in June 1960. It was the first contraceptive pill marketed worldwide. Since then a number of different pills have been developed, which differ in hormone [13] type and dosage, and whether they contain one hormone [13] (the minipill) or two (the combination pill). The development of an effective oral contraceptive was an enormous step in the reproductive rights [14] movement, as contraceptives provided women and couples a means of planning families and limiting the number of children they had.