That Small Pink Pill
Submitted by Rae on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 12:27
Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m one of those girls who wants it all – career, husband, and kids. Regardless of any of my other accomplishments in my life, the one that I will look back on as the most challenging, rewarding, and greatest of them all will be being a mother. Call me a traditionalist. Something that may seem untraditional, though, is that while I’ve been married for over four years, I’m focusing on my career and pushing off that greatest experience to my 30s. I’m an advocate of family planning because, as a female who wants to have the time to focus and build a successful career without the responsibility of children, the development of the birth control pill gives me back some control when it comes to mother nature.
It can be argued that women have always sought out birth control methods. In ancient Egypt, women combined various acidic substances and lubricated with honey or oil, which may have been effective in killing sperm. Asian women may have used oiled paper as a cervical cap while Europeans may have used beeswax. This was before the 17th century when the condom first appeares, made of a length of animal intestine. While it doesn’t hold a candle to the modern latex condom, it is considered a milestone in birth control history. But what about a birth control method that clearly puts women in the driver's seat?
Although scientifically, researchers had the know-how to develop combined oral contraceptive pills (COCP), otherwise know as “the pill” by the 1930s, the first contraceptive, Enovid, wasn’t FDA approved until 1960. By then it had already been in general use by women mostly as a way to treat menstrual disorders. Wikipedia provides a pretty in depth description of its history here. Hormonal contraception, when taken as prescribed, has over a 99% success rate in preventing pregnancy.
As we go forward, women are continuing to break into new industries, rising up in careers which have been previously dominated by males, and in general, are enjoying being themselves before starting a family. Having a birth control method, such as the pill, enables women and provides them with a choice when it comes to wanting to hold off on having children.
Source/Related Articles
Hormonal Contraception, Wikipedia
Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill, Wikipedia
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Comments
I read so many instances of
I read so many instances of people saying that women who get pregnant are completely responsible for the pregnancy because they "chose to have sex." I think this is such a frustrating predicament for women. We are given so many mixed messages about sex throughout our lives, it is unbelievable. Society tells us that girls who are sexually active are sluts. Religion tells us to supress sexual urges to such an extent that having them at all begins to feel wrong. Then, when we're in a relationship, we're told sex is expected, necessary. And finally, in a marriage, we're told sex is an important, healthy part of a loving relationship. How is a woman supposed to feel like she has any control over this "sex" thing at all?
Birth control lets us have at least some control over sex. We can be sexually active while being responsible. We can have a healthy, loving relationship, meeting our partner's and our own needs, without having to worry about getting pregnant. And we can continue to function in a society that finally allows us to make whatever career and family choices we like, without having to put things on hold because we were a woman and wanted to have sex, which got us pregnant. It also helps us to be more responsible human beings. It seems pretty unreasonable to tell a couple not to have sex because they are not in a financial situation where they could support having a baby.
Most of all, I think it's like you said. It's about enjoying yourself before you have kids! I know my husband and I love just spending time with each other, and there's a lot of stuff we want to do together before we bring kids into the equation. We can wait, enjoy these years together, and DECIDE to have kids when we feel emotionally, and financially, prepared.