Enovid brochure, 1960 (Physicians' Product Brochure No. 67, G.D. Searle & Co., U.S.A.)
Ad for Ergoapiol, treatment for painful or missing menstrual periods or other irregularities of the menstrual cycle - or for abortion,
1904.
Patent medicine at this museum.
Read Malcolm Gladwell's riveting New Yorker magazine article about the invention of the birth control pill.
See early contraceptive sponges disguised for other uses.
Patent medicine at this museum.
Read about contraception and religion.
Would you stop menstruating if you could?
See other early Pills from the National Museum of American History.
HOMEPAGE
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
HOMEPAGE |
MUM address & What does MUM mean? |
Email the museum |
Privacy on this site |
Who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! |
Art of menstruation (and awesome ancient art of menstruation) |
Artists (non-menstrual) |
Asbestos |
Belts |
Bidets |
Birth control and religion |
Birth control drugs, old |
Birth control douche & sponges |
Founder bio |
Bly, Nellie |
MUM board |
Books: menstruation & menopause (& reviews) |
Cats |
Company booklets for girls (mostly) directory |
Contraception and religion |
Contraceptive drugs, old |
Contraceptive douche & sponges |
Costumes |
Menstrual cups |
Cup usage |
Dispensers |
Douches, pain, sprays |
Essay directory |
Examination, gynecological (pelvic) (short history) |
Extraction |
Facts-of-life booklets for girls |
Famous women in menstrual hygiene ads |
FAQ |
Feminine napkin, towel, pad directory |
Founder/director biography |
Gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux |
Humor |
Huts |
Links |
Masturbation |
Media coverage of MUM |
Menarche booklets for girls and parents |
Miscellaneous |
Museum future |
Norwegian menstruation exhibit |
Odor |
Olor |
Pad, towel, napkin directory |
Patent medicine |
Poetry directory |
Products, some current |
Puberty booklets for girls and parents|
Religion |
Religión y menstruación |
Your remedies for menstrual discomfort |
Menstrual products safety |
Sanitary napkin, towel, pad directory |
Seguridad de productos para la menstruación |
Science |
Shame |
Slapping, menstrual |
Sponges |
Synchrony |
Tampon directory |
Early tampons |
Teen ads directory |
Tour of the former museum (video) |
Towel, pad, sanitary napkin directory |
Underpants & panties directory |
Videos, films directory |
Words and expressions about menstruation |
Would you stop menstruating if you could? |
What did women do about menstruation in the past? |
Washable pads |
Read 10 years (1996-2006) of articles and Letters to Your MUM on this site.
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.


The Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health

An early (1964) birth control
pill (The Pill): Enovid-E
(in a package labeled "Physician's professional sample"), U.S.A.

Birth control pills were first offered for approval to the Food and Drug Administration (read more here) in 1957 not as contraceptives but as a way to treat menstrual disorders and infertility. Only in 1960 did the manufacturer submit the same oral contraceptive (Enovid) for approval to the FDA to explicitly prevent conception and therefore babies. ("Pill" is often capitalized when referring to a birth control pill.)

There was controversy and tragedy around the development of the Pill, involving the scientists, the public and the Roman Catholic Church.

In 2009 the largest German news magazine, Der Spiegel, used my (larger) image below in its online series about birth control.

A woman who has donated other items to MUM kindly donated this package to the museum. Thanks!

 

Above: The package holding the Pills and insert. The top flap, which holds the Pills on the other side, arrived at MUM separated along the perforations. The top and bottom parts fold over to form a package.

NEXT page || Interior of the package with Pills - The product insert explaining composition, usage, precautions, contraindications and side effects (pages 1-3, 10; 4-7) - Planning Your Family: family planning booklet: covers & pp. 2-3, pp. 4-7, 8-11, 12-15, 16-"inside back cover," 19-20 |
Enovid brochure, 1960 (Physicians' Product Brochure No. 67, G.D. Searle & Co., U.S.A.) - See early contraceptive sponges disguised for other uses. Ad for Ergoapiol, treatment for painful or missing menstrual periods or other irregularities of the menstrual cycle - or for abortion, 1904. Patent medicine at this museum.

© 2004-8 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any of the work on this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org