Let's get it on. But before we do, let's talk about preventative methods. I know you're all frisky, and in the mood, but we don't want to get pregnant do we? Neither did some of our inventive predecessors. They took birth control to the extreme. So before you get all nice and comfy, let's talk birth control.
Birth control has come a long way over the last few thousand years. And not surprisingly, it was up to the woman to take care of it. Some of the earliest forms of birth control can be found in Egyptian papyri. Vaginal suppositories (or pessary) were inserted into the cervix to prevent semen from entering. They were the most efficient contraceptive devices during their time.
In Egypt women used crocodile dung (because of its high acidic content) mixed with honey to form a paste. It was then placed into the cervix where it would begin to dissolve and act as an impenetrable barrier. And if that didn't work, then surely the smell would. The Egyptian women would also use cotton soaked in a paste of acacia and date or they would use ground acacia, carob, and mix it with honey to be inserted into the vagina.
Aristotle supposedly advocated the use of oil as a preventative form of birth control, and some women used it until the 1920's. Another form of pessary was the usage of solid objects to block the cervix. In Africa they would use blades of chopped grass. Japanese prostitutes would use balls of bamboo tissue paper. Ancient Jews used sea sponges wrapped in silk with a string attached. Such forms of contraception were widely popular since conception was nearly impossible.
Another form of birth control was the use of silphium. More popularly known as a type of fennel. The seeds were regularly used throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa. So popular was this form of birth control, that it was harvested into extinction.
Condoms appeared sometime in the seventeenth century, but were virtually ineffective since they were made from the intestines of animals. They were nothing like today's' latex versions, where not only disease is prevented, but pregnancy is almost unlikely.
Abortifacients were also a form of birth control. They usually contained potions concocted from various herbs. In German folk medicine, women used marjoram, thyme, parsley, and lavender in tea form. The “prostitute root” or worm fern was popular. Other recipes consisted of a paste of mashed ants, foam from camels mouths, or actually ingesting forms of poison.
The ingestion of specific poisons disrupted the reproductive system. Albeit, it did come with major side effects. Women have drunk mercury and arsenic in the hopes of preventing birth. Tansy and pennyroyal were also popular, but they tended to poison the woman who ingested the herb. The chemicals in these herbs could not only induce miscarriage, but they would often damage the kidneys, liver, and other internal organs.
In modern times women were reported to use turpentine, castor oil, quinine water with a rusty nail soaked in it, ginger, horseradish, ammonia, and mustard. When I did a research paper back in college, I interviewed my Nana on how women were ostracized for becoming pregnant in her country. She had told me that in her younger days (the 1940's) in Krakow women were so frightened by the consequences of being pregnant out of wed lock that some women went to the extreme of mixing ash with castor oil. In most cases, it only made the woman violently ill rather than producing the desired effects.
Other than ingesting herbs to induce abortion, women also tried external means like hot baths, jumping, or running. A technique in an 8th century Sanskrit source had women standing over a pot of hot steam or stewed onions.
Once men realized that withdrawing could prevent pregnancy, coitus interuptus became very popular. However, this method is sometimes ineffective. Coitus obstructus is a method whereby the forepart of the testicle is pressed upon to block the urethra from forcing semen into the cervix. Coitus reservatus was popular amongst Hindus, and had the male avoiding ejaculation altogether. But how many men do you know that actually have the reserve to control themselves? So that method was definitely unpopular.
Over time, methods such as rhythm method (based on calculating the woman's fertile period and abstaining from sex during it) became common. Although this method is not a reliable one. IUD's were purportedly developed from a tale of Arab traders inserting a rock into the cervix of female camels to prevent unwanted pregnancies. And finally by the 1950's when scientists better understood a woman's cycle, came the invention of the pill. So the next time you make sexy with your partner, thank those who came before you who had to do a lot of trial and error before getting it right.