Contraceptive pills are a recently new development in the medical industry.  In the early 20th century, women did not have many contraceptive options, but in the 1950s, G.D. Searle & Company began efforts to create the first contraceptive pill.

On this day, May 9th, in 1960, Enovid, developed by G.D. Searle & Company, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration.  Enovid was a combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), which combines estrogen and progestin.   Although Enovid had been sold since 1957 for different uses, the FDA’s approval allowed it to be marketed as the world’s first approved oral contraceptive.  In 1961, Enovid was approved in the United Kingdom.  Enovid and other first-generation COCP’s were discontinued in 1988, but contraceptive pills have continued to have a large presence in world markets.

COCP’s are currently used by more than 100 million women worldwide with 12 million users in the United States.  Current COCP’s are more successful and have less side-effects than early pills.  The pioneering efforts of Enovid’s developers allowed for the success of contraceptive pills today.