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Herbal Contraception


For centuries herbal potions and pessaries have been concocted with the goal of preventing, and or disrupting pregnancy. Its impossible for us to say how effective they were, much of the information remains scarce and fragmented, as most recipes are very old and were transmitted orally, information was closely guarded to avoid persecution during the burning times. Some historical information remains to this day, however, exact recipes are rare, and effectiveness rates are untested in our modern society. Scientific researchers have done some research on botanical anti-fertility agents, some findings have been very interesting and some very promising. Unfortunately, there is not alot of money to be made from herbal drugs unless botanical compounds can be extracted, refined, patentened, and proven safe so pharmaceutical companies can make a profit from marketing the discovery to the general public. China and India are two countries that have done quite a bit of research on herbal contraceptives.

Do they work? Lets just say that if you absolutely do not want to get pregnant under any circumstances, then don't use herbs as your sole form of contraception. That said, there does seem to be some evidence that some of them do work. This section of my website discusses some of these herbs in greater details. I can't vouch for their effectiveness, but I have used some of these herbs, and also know others who have used them. On the following pages, you'll find the information and experiences I have collected about each of them. The herbs listed here are a fraction of the herbs available around the world that have been used historically for contraception.

When considering using herbs for contracption please consider the following:

  • What is your risk tolerance for getting pregnant? What does this mean? Well... if you absolutly positively do not want to get pregnant under any circumstances... then herbal contraceptive methods are probably not going to be the best choice for you? Why? Because you are using an experimental form of contraception which does not have the proven reliability that modern contraceptives have. But they might make an appropriate method of back up contraception to a barrier method for an additional layer of protection.
  • Are you under the age of 18? Herbal contraceptives are not a wise choice for a minor for several reasons... 1) no protection from STDs or sexually transmitted viruses. 2) These are unproven methods of contraception. 3) Some of the herbs may have hormone like effects or components and may not be the best choice for a young endocrine system. 4) I'd rather not see teenaged girls faced with the choice of giving birth or having an abortion. 5) Just a few reasons off the top of my head and you or I could probably come up with additional reasons if we put our minds to it. It's not an appropriate choice.
  • Are you in a stable monogomous relationship? Have both partners been tested/interviewed for the posibility of STDs or viruses? (Remember that there is no test to detect HPV in men)
  • Are you willing to experiement on yourself? Are you willing to put yourself at the risk of getting pregnant? Many herbal contraceptives are VERY dependent on being used correctly at the appropriate time.
  • Are you willing to do your own research? To make sure that you are able to find the most up to date information on the method that you are considering trying? Please don't take my word about any of this, I only have so much time to put into research and that time has been very limited in the last several years, take what I have here as a starting point for your own research. Should you find anything particularly interesting or elightening please pass it my way and I'd be happy to make others aware of it as well.


Herbal Contraception general information; types of herbal contraceptives.
Queen Anne's Lace Seed - Wild Carrot Seed
Wild Yam
Silphion ~ The Contraceptive of Ancient Greece (a bit of history)
Neem - Herbal Contraception for Men
Neem - Herbal Contraception for Men & Women {link to another site}



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This page last updated 10/29/2011


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