<P> In the late 9th to early 10th century, the Persian physician Muhammad ibn Zakariya al - Razi documented coitus interruptus, preventing ejaculation and the use of pessaries to block the cervix as birth control methods . He described a number of pessaries, including elephant dung, cabbages and pitch, used alone or in combination . During the same period Ali ibn Abbas al - Majusi documented the use of pessaries made of rock salt for women for whom pregnancy may be dangerous . In the early 10th century the Persian Polymath Abu Ali al - Hussain ibn Abdallah ibn Sina, known in Europe as Avicenna, included a chapter on birth control in his medical encyclopedia The Canon of Medicine, listing 20 different methods of preventing conception . However, at least in the hadith Sahih Bukhari 34: 432, The prophet Muhammad did not approve of preventative measures (1). </P> <P> Indians used a variety of birth control methods since ancient times, including a potion made of powdered palm leaf and red chalk, as well as pessaries made of honey, ghee, rock salt or the seeds of the palasa tree . A variety of birth control prescriptions, mainly made up of herbs and other plants, are listed in the 12th century Ratirahasya ("Secrets of Love") and in the 15th century Ananga Ranga ("The Stage of the God of Love"). </P> <P> In medieval western Europe, any efforts to halt or prevent pregnancy were deemed immoral by the Catholic Church . Women of the time still used a number of birth control measures such as coitus interruptus, inserting lily root and rue into the vagina, and infanticide after birth . </P> <P> Knowledge of herbal abortifacients and contraceptives to regulate fertility decreased in the Early Modern period - John M. Riddle attributed this to attempts of European states to "repopulate" Europe after dramatic losses following the plague epidemics that started in 1348 . </P>

When was free contraception introduced in the uk