What were the contraceptive methods used in ancient times?

Some things that seem very common today were also very troublesome and difficult problems in ancient times. Take contraception for example. Now we can use condoms or intrauterine devices at any time, so there will be no accidental pregnancy. However, there were no advanced contraceptive methods in ancient times, and it was still difficult to operate. So what were the contraceptive methods in ancient times?

Contraception is simple and common for modern people, but it was not easy for ancient people. Because although pregnancy is a prerequisite for human reproduction, for a long time humans did not understand what pregnancy was. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that scientists figured out that conception occurs when sperm meets an egg. Contraception separates sperm and eggs, and thus contraceptive methods such as condoms, contraceptive rings and birth control pills were invented.

Although the ancients could not know exactly why people get pregnant, they knew that pregnancy was caused by sexual intercourse between men and women and the entry of male semen into the female body. They also knew how to use physical barriers to prevent pregnancy. For example, the ancient Chinese used silk oil paper, rags, etc. to insert into the female body as a barrier to prevent semen from entering deeper into the female body. There is also research that says that ancient Chinese people used fish bladders as condoms for contraception.

In addition to physical contraception, drugs were also used for contraception in ancient times. It is said that one method was to put musk and other drugs into a woman's navel, which not only had a contraceptive function, but also had a beautifying effect. After taking the medicine, the skin became as smooth as cream, with a sweet fragrance and youthfulness. This medicine can also be made into a decoction, which was called "cold medicine" in ancient times. It has the effects of contraception and abortion.

There are also folk records that saffron is a secret contraceptive recipe passed down from the palace. It is said that if the emperor does not like a favored palace maid, he will let the eunuch hang the palace maid upside down and wash her lower body with saffron liquid. It is said that this can wash the semen in the palace maid's body. There are also some unofficial histories that say that in the past, after the emperor favored a concubine, if he did not want to keep the semen, the eunuch would help the woman with massage to ensure that the emperor's semen would not remain in the woman's body, thus achieving the effect of contraception.

Through the above introduction, everyone has a clear understanding of what contraceptive methods were used in ancient times. With the changing of times and the development and progress of science and technology, some new contraceptive methods will gradually be developed. It is because of this that ancient contraceptive methods will gradually be replaced. After all, many of the previous contraceptive methods are not scientifically reasonable.