Development of the pill.

The history of development of the first oral contraceptive reveals the coalescence of scientific and social forces in the late 1950s that led to his major advance in reproductive freedom for women. Improved knowledge of basic reproductive endocrinology, the development of oral compounds by pharmaceutical companies, and careful clinical trials to document efficacy each played pivotal roles in the story. In addition to industry, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the U.

Adolescent health services and contraceptive use.

A pilot study of a health services program for never-pregnant high-school students, which stresses development of incentives for personal involvement in their own health care, reports a low incidence of unintended pregnancy among girls who requested contraceptives. The social and emotional characteristics of those who continued contraceptive use are compared with the small group who had uninteneded pregnancies.