Birth Control Methods – One thought about this topic and you will have images of male and female condoms, oral contraceptive pills and several other procedures rushing into your mind that are usually followed to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. But, what did our ancestors do when there were no condoms or pills to avoid pregnancy? They surely didn’t have a hundred babies and were surely not bugged with the worries of conceiving after every time they had sex. So, how did they actually have control in an age with no condoms around?
Today we have facilities of condoms, oral contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices, sterilization but back in those days there were only bizarre but effectual birth control methods that were followed by our ancestors. Thank God that our scientists have invented these new age measures which we follow with ease to avoid pregnancies. Here are a few of these shocking methods followed by our ancestors for birth control!
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- Lemon
Woman soaked sponges in lemon juice and then inserted them into vagina. Sometime before it, lemon exteriors (Chilka) were also used; however it did not prevent sperm reaching an egg. This sponge itself acted as a barrier but the question is, we still haven’t understood the problem which the sponge would have caused being there inside the vagina while having sex!
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- Papaya
Regular consumption of unripe papaya by men, instantly decreases the sperm production. At times bringing it nearly to Zero. Must be wondering it is dangerous? It isn’t, this method is for temporary sterility, once men stopped having the unripe fruit, the sperm counts returns to healthier. The fruit also helps woman to prevent pregnancies and in abortions.
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- Lysol
Believe it or not! In 1900’s women used Lysol douche inside Vagina to prevent pregnancy. Birth Control was illegal in America those days and hence this remedy was popular, which caused burns in Vagina. This was one of the most lethal practice which also took several lives.
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- Daucus Carota AKA Queen Anne’s Lace
These small weed like thing was eaten by women right after an unprotected sex. It was widely considered as weed and was on the edge of the extinction; however it’s power to prevent pregnancy gave it a lifeline.
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- Wolf Urine
Indeed the most bizarre one. Woman runs to the stop where the female wolf had peed, pees on the same spot or walks around the spot chanting a spell. She needs to perform this act right after she had sex. Even today at some parts of the world, people use pregnant horses or wolf’s urine to prepare contraceptive pills.
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- Tampons
Shocked? Tampons are ancient! Though its appearance have changed, its usage have been of similar kinds. Woman soaked tampons in natural fruit juices and used them as birth control. People believed that soaked tampons killed the sperms.
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- Honey
Egyptian Women applied honey on cervix before having sex to prevent pregnancies. Honey on cervix becomes the barrier for sperm to enter in. Some women also mixed it with natural sodium carbonate and crocodile poop to make it more effective! Yes, crocodile poop, mixed with honey in vagina!
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- Mercury
Women in ancient China drank the mixture of oil and mercury when on empty stomach, immediately after intercourse or within 3 days of it. Mercury whose nature is highly toxic, killed the fertilised egg or the sperm inside the body before it reaches the egg. Use of Mercury was not popular in late middle age due to its drawback of yielding permanent sterility.
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- Olive Oil
Olive oil mixed with cedar oil was applied into vagina, which decreased the mobility of sperms. This gave women a chance to wash out semen from the areas around urethra.
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- Ginger Vinegar Bath
Women poured high amount of vinegar and ginger juice in warm water tub and slipped in for hours to get the sperms thoroughly cleaned from the body. They performed this act as soon as they had sex.
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