Contraceptive measures for women in ancient brothels:

Before the emergence of modern contraceptives, how did women in brothels in the past take contraceptive measures? It is rarely recorded in history books, rarely seen in unofficial history, and is downplayed in movies and TV dramas. There is a plot in a movie starring Gong Li: a prostitute drinks a decoction before picking up a client, saying that she will not get pregnant after drinking it. Of course, there is no way to verify what ingredients this medicine contains, and there are different opinions on the method of contraception used by prostitutes in ancient times.

It is said that putting musk into the navel of prostitutes can prevent pregnancy. For example, the two sisters Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede, who are regarded as the most "famous women" in China, have records of using such contraceptive measures. Of course, the two sisters Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Hede cannot be called prostitutes, but they have the same goal. This kind of belly button sticking is called "belly sticking". By sticking it on the belly button, the fertilizing function of a woman's belly can be terminated, and she will no longer be able to get pregnant. However, this "belly patch" has been lost.

There are also folk records. It is said that saffron is a secret contraceptive recipe passed down from the palace. It is said that if the emperor does not like a favored maid, he will ask the eunuch to hang the maid upside down and give her saffron liquid. Washing the lower body is said to be able to cleanse the semen from the palace maid's body. There are also some unofficial histories that say that in the past, after the emperor favored his concubine, if he said he would not keep it, the eunuch would massage the woman's body to ensure that the emperor's semen could not be retained in the woman. in the body, which can have a contraceptive effect.

However, even now, there is no 100% effective contraceptive method, and Wei Xiaobao is the product of contraceptive failure. In the past, many brothel women were sterile for life after they were relinquished. They drank a decoction that destroyed their fertility for a long time, leading to sterilization. It was said that they took a contraceptive medicine called "cool medicine", which also contained musk. The ingredients may affect fertility, but may not necessarily result in sterilization.

There are also records of the use of "condoms", which were made from animal casings, some said they were from sheep, and some said pig bladders were early "condoms". However, according to true historical records, in Western medieval palaces The "condom" used is animal casings, and it also has a nice name - "Dutch Cap". Ancient Chinese also used fish fat as "condoms". Among the museum's collections are condoms made by ancient people from sheep intestines, which are somewhat close to the prototype of modern condoms.

In India and Egypt more than 3,000 years ago, the feces of animals such as crocodiles and elephants that were considered to have mysterious powers were also used in contraceptive prescriptions. In fact, because these animals' feces are highly acidic, it does have some spermicidal effects. However, the strong odor caused by animal feces obviously affected the "sexual interest" of ancient couples.

There is also a method of drinking mercury. It is true that mercury can prevent pregnancy, but mercury is highly toxic. Maybe drinking a small amount will not kill people. Now, in the northern rural areas of our country, many elderly people use drinking mercury as a contraceptive method when they were young, which is definitely very harmful to the body. Therefore, in the past, a small amount of mercury was put into the tea or daily food that prostitutes drank, and it was said to be very effective. Of course, the prostitutes were kept in the dark and thought it was incense burner ashes that could prevent pregnancy. Otherwise, the prostitutes would know Mercury is poisonous, so don’t drink it!

Reference: /0017/2007-04-18/L0017006_232846.html

I am very confused...how did the women in ancient brothels use contraception...

1 As a professional role, brothel girls are also subject to physical and psychological baptism. The professional nature of survival does not allow them to get pregnant. This psychological suggestion is effective for a long time.

2. Women in brothels do not need to deliberately use contraceptive methods, because they are likely to be infected, such as the current mycoplasma and chlamydia infections, which can cause functional infertility.

3. Without contraception for a long time, women’s own immune system comes into play and sperm and semen are “shielded”. Modern research shows that after long-term unprotected sexual intercourse, women will produce anti-sperm antibodies, leading to immune infertility.

4. More infertility is also the reason why they are not pregnant.

/question/35412639.html?si=2