Historical Contraception in A White Room

After an unofficial congressional committee heard testimony regarding mandatory employer health coverage of contraception, women’s birth control has become a major topic in the news, especially after a republican radio host attacked a woman who testified.

There are a lot of arguments for and against women’s birth control and those arguments have been going on throughout history and so has birth control.

A White Room deals with the topic of historical birth control at the turn of the century. Women had their own secret methods to prevent pregnancy – some of which were on the level of a diaphragm/sponge and others that were comparable to old wives tales including douches, eating or drinking certain things, etc. The diaphragm/sponge tools women used were sold under alternative pretenses – specifically to correct a prolapsed uterus.

The following is an excerpt written for A White Room describing female birth control at the turn of the 20^th century. This excerpt was actually cut out of the final manuscript.

 To prevent the onset of pregnancy several devices have come into regular use, secretively of course. The expense of intestinal and rubber covers from a dollar to 12 cents, respectively has perpetuated alternative methods. A female syringe is used to wash vigorously with chemicals including alum or sulphates of zinc or iron. There is also a pessary made from either wood, cotton or sponge although its intended purpose is to correct the prolapsed uterus. The most moral approach of course is coitus interupptus, but it is ill advisable for the detrimental effects it has upon the male. Women tend to spread the use of these tools secretly amongst themselves despite their good nature thus it should always be discouraged by the trained practitioner.

Women also had their own method of inducing a miscarriage or an abortion including violent exercise, hot douches, jumping off of a chair, hot and cold baths, etc. Some women went to level of using makeshift tools and others hired doctors or midwives who conducted the procedures illegally – some of which were successful and others that weren’t.

Women had many reasons to use contraception and attempt abortions at the turn of the century. The lives of some women consisted of constant pregnancy. Without birth control women often became pregnant again immediately after giving birth to a child and that pattern could go on until death or menopause. Constant pregnancy took a major toll on women’s mental and physical condition.

For women of a lower class who couldn’t afford to feed many children, avoiding pregnancy became an issue of economical survival. If they had too many children, they wouldn’t be able to take care of their entire family and would have to let their children starve, abandon them, or in some cases sell them.

Another reason was fear of death. At the turn of the century, pregnancy was almost a death sentence. Many women did not survive childbirth and with each pregnancy death was a real and common risk.

Contraception and abortions were just as common among upper class women as they were among lower class women; however, these practices were almost always done in secret. Women would incur terrible consequences from their husbands, society, and the law for having an abortion and in some cases for using contraception.

A White Room takes place in 1901, and in the next decade or two women’s birth control issues started to move to the forefront as women fought for their rights and the birth control movement began. The movement regained more momentum in the 1960s-1970s and continued to some extent into modern times.

Contraception has been used by men and women long before the turn of the 20^th century and there are even records of makeshift condoms, tonics, and more from the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman societies. It’s an interesting perspective to keep in mind as modern day men and women argue about this controversial topic.

Article about Rush Limbaugh’s controversial comments related to contraception issues http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/Vox-News/2012/0302/Has-Rush-Limbaugh-finally-gone-too-far

Birth Control timeline starting in 3,000 B.C. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52188

This blog was not written to express political or social opinions, but to discuss the history of birth control used in my novel A White Room. The history discussed is bases on research I conducted for A White Room.