---
title: "Birth Control — AP World Definition & Exam Guide"
description: "Birth control is the post-1900 contraceptive technology that gave women control over fertility and cut birth rates worldwide. Tested in AP World Unit 9 (Topics 9.1, 9.9)."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-world/key-terms/birth-control"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP World History: Modern"
unit: "Unit 9"
---

# Birth Control — AP World Definition & Exam Guide

## Definition

In AP World, birth control refers to the more effective contraceptive technologies developed after 1900 (especially post-1950, like the pill) that gave women greater control over fertility, transformed reproductive practices, and contributed to declining fertility rates in much of the world (Topics 9.1 and 9.9).

## What It Is

Birth control, in the [AP World](/ap-world "fv-autolink") CED, means the more effective contraceptive technologies that spread after 1900. Think of the oral contraceptive pill (approved in 1960), IUDs, and other modern methods that made family planning reliable for the first time in history. The CED's exact language matters here. More effective forms of birth control "gave women greater control over fertility, transformed reproductive practices, and contributed to declining rates of fertility in much of the world."

Why is this a technology term and not just a social one? Because AP World files it under Topic 9.1 (Advances in Technology and Exchange after 1900) alongside the [internet](/ap-world/key-terms/internet "fv-autolink"), air travel, and nuclear power. The exam treats birth control as a scientific advance with massive social consequences. When women could choose when and whether to have children, they could pursue education and careers, family sizes shrank, and demographic patterns shifted across the globe. That chain from technology to social transformation is exactly what [Unit 9](/ap-world/unit-9 "fv-autolink") asks you to explain.

## Why It Matters

Birth control lives in **Unit 9: [Globalization](/ap-world/unit-9/resistance-globalization-after-1900/study-guide/UNOZnXixKCtpAMnEyT1Y "fv-autolink"), 1900-Present**, and it supports two learning objectives. **AP World 9.1.A** asks you to explain how new technologies changed the world after 1900, and birth control is one of the named essential-knowledge examples, right next to the internet, [petroleum](/ap-world/key-terms/petroleum "fv-autolink"), and the Green Revolution. **AP World 9.9.A** asks you to explain the *extent* to which science and technology brought change in this period, which is continuity-and-change framing. Birth control is one of the cleanest examples of technology reshaping social structures, so it connects to the Social Interactions and Organization theme (changing gender roles) as well as Technology and Innovation. For the full picture of post-1900 tech, link up to the Topic 9.1 study guide.

## Connections

### Agricultural Technology and the Green Revolution (Unit 9)

These two are the demographic odd couple of Unit 9. The [Green Revolution](/ap-world/key-terms/green-revolution "fv-autolink") and medical advances pushed population *up* by feeding more people and keeping them alive, while birth control pushed fertility rates *down*. Knowing which technology did which is a classic MCQ trap.

### [Communication Technology (Unit 9)](/ap-world/key-terms/communication-technology)

Birth control sits in the same essential-knowledge list as [radio](/ap-world/key-terms/radio "fv-autolink"), cell phones, and the internet under Topic 9.1. They're all evidence for the same claim, that post-1900 technology transformed daily life, just in different arenas (reproduction vs. information).

### Changing Gender Roles across Units 7-9

Women's expanding roles is a thread you can trace from wartime labor in the World Wars ([Unit 7](/ap-world/unit-7 "fv-autolink")) to suffrage movements to birth control in Unit 9. Birth control is the technological piece of that long story, the moment biology stopped dictating women's life plans.

### [Globalization of Popular Culture (Unit 9)](/ap-world/key-terms/globalization-of-popular-culture)

Smaller families and women in the workforce reshaped consumer culture and social norms worldwide. Birth control is part of how globalization changed not just what people bought, but how households were structured.

## On the AP Exam

Birth control shows up most often in multiple-choice questions tied to Topics 9.1 and 9.9. Common stems ask which development "directly contributed to declining rates of fertility" after 1900, or which social transformation effective birth control "most directly contributed to" (answer: women's expanded participation in education and the workforce). You may also see continuity-and-change framing, like a question pairing early and late 20th-century developments to show how birth control's impact on women's lives evolved. No released FRQ has used the term verbatim, but it's strong evidence for an LEQ or DBQ on how technology changed society after 1900 or on changing gender roles. The move the exam rewards is connecting the technology to its consequence. Don't just name the pill; explain that it gave women control over fertility, which lowered birth rates and opened doors to education and careers.

## birth control vs The Green Revolution

Both are post-1900 technologies in the same Topic 9.1 list, but they pushed population in opposite directions. The Green Revolution (high-yield crops, fertilizers) increased food supply and supported population *growth*, while birth control reduced *fertility rates*. If an MCQ asks what caused declining fertility, the answer is birth control, never the Green Revolution. World population still grew overall because medicine and food production outpaced falling birth rates.

## Key Takeaways

- Birth control in AP World means the more effective contraceptive technologies after 1900, especially the pill (1960), that gave women greater control over fertility.
- The CED lists birth control as a technological advance in Topic 9.1, alongside the internet, air travel, and nuclear power, supporting learning objective AP World 9.1.A.
- Its biggest social effect was transforming women's lives, since controlling fertility let women pursue education and careers and changed family structures worldwide.
- Birth control contributed to declining fertility rates in much of the world, even as the Green Revolution and modern medicine drove overall population growth.
- For continuity-and-change questions (Topic 9.9), birth control is a go-to example of how science and technology changed social patterns from 1900 to the present.

## FAQs

### What is birth control in AP World History?

It's the CED's term for the more effective contraceptive technologies developed after 1900 (like the pill, approved in 1960) that gave women greater control over fertility and contributed to declining fertility rates worldwide. It's tested in Unit 9, Topics 9.1 and 9.9.

### Did birth control cause world population to decline?

No. Birth control lowered fertility rates (births per woman), but total world population kept growing through the 20th century because the Green Revolution and medical advances reduced famine and disease deaths. Falling fertility and growing population happened at the same time.

### How is birth control different from the Green Revolution on the AP exam?

They're both post-1900 technologies in Topic 9.1, but birth control reduced fertility rates while the Green Revolution increased food production and supported population growth. MCQs love testing whether you know which one caused declining fertility (birth control).

### Why is birth control considered a technology in AP World?

Because the CED classifies modern contraceptives as scientific and medical advances under Topic 9.1, Advances in Technology and Exchange after 1900. The exam frames it as a technology whose biggest effects were social, like changing gender roles and family size.

### How does birth control connect to women's rights in Unit 9?

Reliable contraception meant women could decide when and whether to have children, which made sustained education and careers possible. That makes birth control key evidence for arguments about changing gender roles and social transformation from 1900 to the present.

## Related Study Guides

- [9.1 Advances in Technology and Exchange after 1900](/ap-world/unit-9/advances-technology-exchange-after-1900/study-guide/iTXqQOkeeD9jQ9FpRc7x)

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