Fertility treatments have come a long way! Today, we have options like IVF and medications. But what did people do centuries ago when they were trying to conceive? Get ready to explore some seriously strange and creative methods from the ancient world. Here are ten ancient fertility treatments that might make you grateful for modern medicine!
10. A Potion of Butter and Breastmilk
Imagine a fertility treatment prescribed by none other than Hippocrates, the father of medicine! Back in the 4th century BC, he suggested a rather unusual concoction. A woman who was trying to conceive would fast and then drink breastmilk from a woman who had given birth to a boy, mixed with special plant butter.
The idea was that if the woman vomited after drinking this mixture, it meant she would become pregnant. It makes one wonder if the vomiting was more related to the ingredients than anything else.
9. An Insertable Lead and Breastmilk Concoction
Hippocrates had more where that came from! Another treatment he suggested involved grinding up lead and a stone that attracts iron into a smooth powder.
The woman would then tie this mixture in a rag, dip it in breastmilk, and insert it into her vagina. The idea was to help the vagina retain semen better; pretty questionable, right?
8. Throwing Offerings in a Hot Pool
Ancient civilizations often turned to their gods for help with fertility. The Etruscan civilization, which lived in what is now Tuscany, is a great example. Archaeologists have discovered small statues of newborn babies that were thrown into a thermal hot spring.
It’s believed that the hot spring symbolized healing. By tossing these baby statues into the water, the Etruscans hoped to increase their chances of conceiving. Think of it like a prayer, but with statues and a steamy bath!
7. Whipping a Woman’s Belly
The Romans had a rather striking way of dealing with infertility. During the feast of Mars in October, priests would whip the bellies of women who were struggling to conceive with whips made of goatskins.
It’s hard to imagine that this practice had any real effect, and it probably hurt quite a bit. Still, it was considered a way to treat infertility back in ancient Rome.
6. Reciting the Lord’s Prayer
In 13th-century England, a physician named Gilbertus Anglicus suggested a unique treatment. A man over 20 years old should recite the Lord’s Prayer while uprooting comfrey and daisy plants.
He would then squeeze the juices from the plants and write, “The Lord said: increase and multiply and fill the earth,” along with some magic words on an amulet. The man would wear this amulet during intimate relations in hopes of conceiving a child.
5. Sacrificing a Virgin
The Aztecs, known for their brutal practices, had a particularly gruesome fertility treatment. They worshipped Xochiquetzal, a goddess of fertility. To please her and help women conceive, they would sacrifice a virgin.
The chosen virgin would pretend to be the goddess and marry a warrior. A year later, she would be sacrificed, and a priest would wear her skin while disciples danced and offered blood to the goddess. It was believed this would ensure the goddess’s continued blessings of fertility.
4. Drinking Catnip-Infused Wine
In medieval England, a common remedy for infertility involved catnip. To help a woman get pregnant, she was instructed to boil catnip in wine until the wine reduced to a third of its volume.
The woman would then drink this catnip wine on an empty stomach for three days. The hope was that it would increase her chances of conceiving. Hopefully, the cats didn’t get to the wine first!
3. Drinking Wine Mixed with Pig Testicles
If catnip wine sounds bad, this medieval remedy is even worse. This treatment involved removing the testicles from a male pig and drying them out.
Once dried, they would be ground into a powder and mixed with wine. The patient (whether the man or the woman wasn’t specified) would drink this concoction for three days to boost fertility. Cheers to that!
2. Leaving Umbilical Cords Under Your House
The Batak community in Indonesia had a different approach to fertility treatment. Instead of ingesting strange potions, they focused on the environment around the hopeful parents.
Their remedy involved placing umbilical cords and placentas beneath the home of a woman who wanted to become pregnant. It’s hard to say if this was effective, but the Batak people have thrived, so maybe there was something to it!
1. Drinking Urine
Pliny the Elder, a Roman scholar, suggested one of the most unpleasant fertility treatments of all: drinking urine. He proposed that drinking the urine of a eunuch could counteract negative infertility spells.
But that wasn’t all! He also suggested that horse, bull, and boar urine could improve sexual arousal and desire. Yes, you read that right.
From bizarre potions to sacrificial rituals, these ancient fertility treatments highlight just how far we’ve come in understanding and treating infertility. While some of these methods might seem comical or even horrifying today, they represent the hopes and dreams of people who longed to start a family. It makes you appreciate modern medicine a little bit more, doesn’t it?
Which of these treatments surprised you the most? Leave your comment below!
