The Next Best Book Club discussion
Bookish Lists...
>
Historical Birth Control
date
newest »
newest »
Interesting...hmm. Amy Tan (I don't remember which book) talks about a girl stabbing herself with a piece of straw until she bled. But then she died.And Tom Robbins uses some herbal concoction in Jitterbug Perfume, I don't recall what it was though, or if it was specifically mentioned.
Abigail, they used Pennyroyal in Jitterbug Perfume.
Mod
very... uhm... interesting :)
I've read of condoms made of sheep's intestines(?)and of course the sponge soaked in vinegar solution as mentioned on the blog.
Sheep's intestines would really put me off it!
I know they talk about something using seaweed or some other plant in City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan that I can't quite remember now. It was very strange.
Cynthia,do you remember if Claire from Outlander series gave advise about birth control and if so (which surely she must have)what it was?
I don't honestly remember anything specific...I know she talked about it with Bree in one of the later books but I can't think now of what she recommended.
I always wondered what you were supposed to do with that sponge...and I wonder if pennyroyal actually works...it's very weird to think about.edit: I don't think I'll ever be trying that one...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennyroyal
Pennyroyal tea! Just like in the Nirvana song. I'm guessing it was about abortion.
"Drink pennyroyal tea, distill the life that's inside of me."
Very interesting topic. I haven't read it in a fictional book but if you take black or blue cohosh in the first or second trimester it can cause death to the fetus. In the third trimester causes labor.
Odd methods of birth control? The rythem method - good luck! Uterine plug of crocodile dung? A douche of crushed sea slugs or was that sea urchins? Get it right, or else! Only having sex while you are breastfeeding? How about that old standby, the chastity belt? Prayer!?
Yummy! My husband is away on business. Don't give me any ideas...^^
There are some interesting takes on this topic in The Crimson Petal on White, which I absolutely adored.
I've read lots of books with herbal potions. The first mention of herbal potion I remember was in The Clan of the Cave Bear or maybe it was The Valley of Horses (the second book in the series) Anyway I was in my early twenties at the time and just starting to stretch my wings so to speak. If there was an herbal potion out there, I sure would have liked to have had it.
Mostly books were misleading to young girls because the sex was always hot and fantastic and birth control was never mentioned.
Just recently I read World Without End wherein a female character used an herbal potion to make a baby go away. She got her comeuppance though- she was never able to get pregnant again. Abortion is still a bad thing and bad things will happen to you if you do it in books.
Now, I'm not sure where I heard it. But I understand ladies of the evening in England used to use copper pennies up there as kind of home made IUD. No information as to whether it worked or not.
I just recently read a piece on the history of condoms and the things people used to use...
Apparently, the best birth control is education! (Once a teacher, always a teacher!) I can't remember the statistics exactly, but female education level and birth rate are inversely proportional, which means that as the education level of the women goes up, the number of births goes down (we're dealing with averages here, pls. to remember).
The Next Best Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
World Without End (other topics)The Crimson Petal and the White (other topics)
The Valley of Horses (other topics)
City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan (other topics)
The Clan of the Cave Bear (other topics)
Catherine Delors posted this on 18th century contraception. What do y'all think? Have any other good links/reads?
Birth Control History