10 Birth Control Practices We’re Really Glad Don’t Exist Anymore
Posted by: Ami Angelowicz
Filed in:
sex
1:30PM, Friday October 30th 2009
Apparently there were many crazy things ladies used to do to prevent themselves from getting knocked up before condoms and the pill were available at the corner drug stores. Thanks to this Newsweek slide show, “The Evolution of Birth Control,” I learned a thing or two about how ladies used to ward off a visit from the stork. After the jump, the top 10 birth control practices that I’m thrilled I never have to try.
- Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested that women anoint themselves with makeshift spermicides such as with olive oil, cedar oil, lead oil, or frankincense oil. Now we know that turning your vagina into an incense burner does nothing to prevent pregnancy.
- The ancient Greeks tried to prevent conception by squatting after sex and pounding on the abdomen. Fun!
- Ancient Egyptians used sea sponges drenched in lemon juice and vinegar to keep sperm at bay. That sounds like what I use to clean my bathroom.
- Beginning in Europe in the 15th Century, someone—a million dollars says it was a man—thought it would be an awesome idea to prevent pregnancy by making the lady parts really difficult to get into. Enter the oh-so uncomfortable chastity belt. [Insert blood curdling scream.]
- Giacomo Girolamo Cassanova, the first real playa, used the empty rind of half a lemon to prevent the spread of his seed. Lemonade!
- In 1873, Congress passed an act that would allow people to be fined $50 and thrown in jail for using any drug or medicinal article for contraception. Good idea! That’ll stop people!
- In the 1920s, women were using a crude kind of diaphragm called the cervical cap (pictured above). Wait that goes in the vagina and not on your head?
- The Great Depression was a really depressing time for birth control. All I can say is that I would never put a “Lysol douche” anywhere near the vicinity of my vaj. But ladies who did often scalded their vaginas.
- Another popular birth control method in the 1930s was the stem pessary that looks eerily like a corkscrew. Noooo!
- Even though they look fancy, the Dalkon Shield, a kind of IUD, caused pelvic inflammatory disease in many women proving once and for all that the cervix should not wear jewelry. [Newsweek]
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frostie
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 12:53 pm: [report]
Why does it say ‘RACIAL’ on it? Am I the only one confused by that?
impoddity
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 01:02 pm: [report]
I heard ancient Egyptians also used to use crocodile dung as a birth control method. And let’s not get started on condoms used in the early 20th century made out of rubber. Thank god for pills, modern-day condoms and IUDs.
live2run4ever
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 01:03 pm: [report]
Is that thing made out of wood? Cause it’s looks like it is!
Goldfinch86
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 01:31 pm: [report]
Actually the first condoms were made of goat or sheep intestine and worked very well, I know of them as far back as the late 1800’s. You can still get them today I think.
rockin' cupcake
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 01:51 pm: [report]
i used to work in an ob/gyn office, and the cervial cap is actually a safe, comfortable birth control option that is as effective as the diaphragm… it always amazes me when women are too uncomfortable to touch their own body, but will allow sexual partners (sometimes who we barely know) to touch us. and we think it’s totally normal for men to touch themselves, but we can’t?! let’s stop being afraid of our own genitals and use safer birth control already! synthetic hormones, like in the pill, patch, nuvaring, and mirena IUD, are terrible for you. and they kill women every year due to blood clots, heart attacks and strokes, just to name a few possible deadly side effects of hormonal birth control.
Wytch
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 01:55 pm: [report]
Actually, olive oil did work to help prevent pregnancy as it lowered the motility of sperm. Obviously not the best method but probably better than crocodile dung.
Jenn27549
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 02:11 pm: [report]
Sheepskin condoms are fine for BC but they are terrible at preventing the spread of STD’s. So, I wouldn’t make a habit out of using them unless you aren’t worried about that part.
develange
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 04:19 pm: [report]
yes, let me go put some lead oil in my vagina. I can’t get pregnant if I’m dead.
SmakNews
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 06:01 pm: [report]
very interesting comments
amazed at how much knowledge the readers know! although cringed at seeing photos/descriptions of weird birth control methods, i’m wondering more what sort of ancient abortion methods might have been used… sure that one will be harder to stomach.
christinax4
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 07:08 pm: [report]
what, no other pics??
ankle
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 08:01 pm: [report]
Recently at Target, I saw a woman checking out with four boxes of douche and a large mixing bowl.
I bet SHE had an exciting evening.
janessadawn
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 09:46 pm: [report]
‘the cervix should not wear jewelry’—what, are you deluded? IUDs are the MOST used form of birth control worldwide (although not so much in the US, stupidly) are incredibly effective, are insanely economical, and they work for years without any daily, weekly, or monthly effort on your part.
haven’t you seen the Mirena commercials? despite what they say you DO NOT have to be a mom already to get one. I have one and I cannot say enough good things about it. I have NO period and I don’t have to worry about getting it replaced for another 3.5 years!
novavariations
wrote on October 31 2009 @ 12:45 pm: [report]
Calm down.
She said a type of IUD—used from 1964 to 1990 and, if you read the linked article, looks like a bug (instead of the current Y shape) with a string attached presumably so it doesn’t get lost in your lady bits. In the picture (also in the article) one of the women is wearing it as a broach.
It was a joke. A joke pertaining to a specific IUD used over two decades ago that caused pelvic inflammatory disease.
writergirl
wrote on November 1 2009 @ 06:33 am: [report]
Sponges were popular uses all through Europe in the 12th century on. There were also a mix of herbs recommended in Victorian times that women drank every morning in a tea.
Condoms can be traced as far back as prior to the 15th century in Asia; and then linene was used in Europe starting in the 1400’s sometime, then were made out of animal intestines/skins.
bbblondie
wrote on November 1 2009 @ 11:47 pm: [report]
Hey, rockin’ cupcake (I love your name, btw), please don’t bash on the pill just because you support the cervical cap, diaphragms, etc. There are pros and cons to every type of birth control. Of course there are risks associated with hormonal birth control, but there are benefits as well. How about the fact that it has been shown to reduce a woman’s chances of getting cervical cancer? That’s pretty cool, and the diaphragm doesn’t do that! Furthermore, some ladies like to use two forms. Diaphragms aren’t 100% effective at preventing pregnancy, and neither is the pill, so using them together is a very responsible choice.
AnitaBath
wrote on November 2 2009 @ 08:13 am: [report]
Right after I saw this article, I was driving in the car and the radio station did this little bit on, “Hey! Do you know what they used to use for birth control!?” You could totally tell they just ripped off this article since they said the exact same stuff, right down to what they put on the sponges. I just shook my head at them.
rockin' cupcake
wrote on November 2 2009 @ 10:15 am: [report]
@bbblondie, i’m not bashing any form of birth control, i’m bashing many women’s disgust with touching their own body. EVERY birth control has pro’s and con’s… i’m not sure what birth control method you are talking about that reduces the risk of cervical cancer though, and if you are talking about a hormone, actually it’s the opposite that is true. if you are getting your statistics from a drug company, beware, they want your money. truly, that’s their bottom line. i have been woo-ed by drug rep’s for years, with their new products, lunch, dinner, etc. and i absolutely agree with using two methods, that is the most effective, to use a hormone and barrier method. i just want women to feel OK with touching themselves, and feel empowered doing so. it’s not a bad thing, and i just wish every woman could feel that way.
Evan
wrote on November 3 2009 @ 04:40 pm: [report]
Probably better for a self-proclaimed sex education site not to be promulgating rumors about safe and effective birth control.
While the Dalcon Shield was a disaster, in no way did it prove “once and for all that the cervix should not wear jewelry”. On the contrary, modern IUDs are a popular, safe, and effective form of birth control.
The cervical cap still exists, too.
Bit of a stretch to call #6 a birth control practice.
Seriously, it’s hard enough getting good sex information out there without self-proclaimed sex educators spreading false information.
cyrusjackson
wrote on November 4 2009 @ 11:11 am: [report]
lol, its a good job they dont exist anymore aswell!
ohhfoggylullaby
wrote on November 6 2009 @ 11:13 am: [report]
Goldfinch-
The material is spot on, but the first condoms were created by Henry VIII so he wouldn’t have illegitimate children…at least that what my history proff said