ABSTRACT
The combined pill is today one of the most widely used methods of contraception, but the pills currently used are quite different from the original pills. In the late 1930s Dr Kurzrok showed that the administration of oral oestrogen eased dysmenorrhoea and inhibited ovulation. In 1956 clinical trials began in Puerto Rico on a combined oestrogen and progestogen pill called Enovid; it was approved for use in America in 1957. In 1960 clinical trials began in the UK and in 1961 Conovid E and Anovlar, each containing more than 50g of oestrogen, were approved by the Medical Advisory Council of the Family Planning Association.
