Amazing Moments in Birth Control
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Peace, love, and the Pill
Hormonal birth control was tested in the '40s and '50s, but it wasn't approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) until 1960. Five years later, it became the leading method of reversible birth control.
But holy hormones! The original Pill contained more than 100 mcg of estrogen (now the average dose is 20 to 35 mcg), causing serious side effects such as blood clots. "I don't think women realize that today's side effects —the bloating, weight gain, and headaches—are so minimal. They weren't as tolerable at first," says Julie Oyler, MD, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
In 1969, Barbara Seaman released The Doctors' Case Against the Pill, which resulted in a mandatory insert in the birth control packaging describing potential side effects.
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