Women who found themselves in trouble were left to their own devices or, worse yet, to quackery. Mail-order medicines under the guise of vegetable compounds, regulating elixirs, and an assortment of pills (renovating, periodical, Catholic, and lunar) promised to “restore female regularity, remove weakness of the stomach, dissolve unwanted uterine growths.” While clever language allowed their makers to avoid the long arm of Mr. Comstock, there was no assurance a product would make good on its boasts.
