Editor's word

Abstract

5000 years after the first condom was invented in Egypt, most probably made from animal hide (although the primary reason for use is unknown), last Mother's Day we have celebrated the 50th birthday anniversary of the Contraceptive Pill. And obviously one question springs to mind. What spurred research in this direction? Surprisingly the Pill was the idea of a conservative Catholic nurse called Margaret Sanger who opened the first birth control clinic in America. in 1916. Interestingly, in parallel, Cyrus McCormick is diagnosed with schizophrenia. His wife, Katherine, dreads passing on the mental illness to future children and later on forms a partnership with Sanger, funding contraception research with her sizeable fortune. Initial clinical trials were conducted by Catholic gynaecologist, John Rock. This work eventually leads to the development of the birth control pill as we know it today.