Overview of advances in contraception

For most of man's existence, natural checks on fertility ensured that the n umbers of the population more or less matched the resources available. It i s only in the last few generations that man has so dominated the natural en vironment that the numbers of people in the world have increased exponentia lly, unchecked by natural disasters such as disease and starvation. Coincid ental with extended life expectancy, the fertility rate of individual women has increased with the advent of bottle feeding and the decline in the con traceptive effects of breast feeding. Contraception has become increasingly important to individuals, allowing them to break free from the 'burden of excessive fertility'(1).