Between 1965 and 1973 the percentage of married women practicing contraception in the United States increased from 64.2 to 69.9. This increase was accompanied by changing social values, increased information, and important technological innovations. The major technological innovations were the birth control pill and the Intrauterine Device (IUD), as well as new and safer techniques for female sterilization. The blossoming of private and public family planning programs in this period may also have been instrumental in the increased use of contraception.