A Few Herbal Birth Control Recipes

Just to start off with!

Please see my intro post on the subject of alternative/herbal birth control methods. This post is a continuation of that one, focusing on some of the herbal birth control & period-inducing recipes I have come across. If you want some lists & links with short discussions of more birth control and abortive herbs, please see the following post.

==WARNING:

NEVER EVER USE PENNYROYAL IN ANY OTHER FORM BESIDES TEA MADE FROM STEMS/LEAVES UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE. I’m serious. TEA FROM STEMS/LEAVES ONLY. Some women have mistakenly used oil of pennyroyal and subsequently ended the life of more than just their unwanted fetus==

 

RECIPE #1

Emily in the D.I.Y. GUIDE II <a free publication> describes this recipe:

1. Infuse ½ ounce of motherwort and ½ ounce of pennyroyal in 2-3 cups boiling water;
2. Steep the mixture by covering it on low heat for 20 minutes, then strain
3. Infuse 1 ounce of blue cohosh root in 2 cups cold water for 20 minutes (covered), then strain
4. Mix the 2 teas together
5. Drink ¼ cup of the mixture hot 4 to 5 times a day OR drink 1 ½ cups a day, a little at a time every hour
6. Do not drink this tea for more than a week!

*(recipe is paraphrased & edited for continuity. Other recipes specify decoction for the blue cohosh root–see below)

She also suggests the following in addition to her main teas:

• Taking 2 goldenseal root capsules 3 times a day
• Chewing fresh
• Drinking ginger tea constantly

 

RECIPE #2

From Rina Nissim’s book, Natural Healing in Gynaecology: A Manual for Women:

“Practically speaking
We always prescribe two associated herbs:

cotton root bark or pennyroyal or mugwort

to be used with

parsley or blue cohosh [root] or black cohosh [root]

Using one teaspoonful of each plant, separately, per cup liquid — in infusion for the leaves (mugwort and pennyroyal), and in decotion for the roots (the others) — drink one cup of each of the 2 herbs three times a day. This means 6 cups to drink each day for a maximum of 6 days. (more information below)
BE CAREFUL: do not overdose. Do not continue treatment more than six days. Do not begin after the 10th overdue day. The better informed women are, the earlier they will begin. It is not necessary to continue taking the herbs once the period has truly begun.”

*(You can find this with a larger excerpt at this site. Just so you know, the teas made from the roots are absolutely revolting….tinctures of these are somewhat less disgusting in my opinion. I normally use Pennyroyal with Blue Cohosh root teas, or Pennyroyal tea with a dose of Blue and/or Black cohosh tinctures added. Once I used Mugwort instead of Pennyroyal—that made sleep very fitful and gave me bizarre dreams. Not too surprising, as it’s a dreamer’s herb. I have experienced slight nausea and light-headedness while taking the teas, common side-effects. When I first started using these teas, my period always started on the 3rd day after beginning the regimen!)

 

That site adds further:

“Group A (choose one):

Cotton Root Bark (Gossypium herbacetum), only the outer layer or bark of the root, cut and broken up like tea.
Boil 1 teaspoon of bark per cup of liquid for 10 minutes. Then drink 3 cups per day for a maximum of 6 days.
Suggested to use only organically-grown cotton root bark, as cotton plants grown for fabric production are heavily sprayed with pesticides.

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), entire plant is used, broken up like tea.
Tea Infusion of 1 teaspoon of plant per cup of water, 3 cups a day for a maximum of 6 days.
CAUTION: Do Not Use Pennyroyal oil, which is toxic and potentially lethal!

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), entire plant is used, broken up like tea.
Tea infusion of 1 teaspoon of plant per cup of water, 3 cups a day for a maximum of 6 days.
CAUTION: Do Not Overdose – more than 40g per litre can cause hepato-renal disorders and convulsions!
Contra-indications: uterine inflammation, recent pelvic inflamation.

Group B (choose one):

Parsley (Petroselium sativum), use entire plant, broken up like tea. Do Not Use the seeds.
Boil 1 teaspoon per cup liquid for 10 minutes. Take 3 cups per day. Or use 50g per litre, drinking 2-3 cups per day.
CAUTION: Overdoses are toxic. The seeds are even stronger than the entire plant and should not be used.

Black Cohosh (Cimifuga raremosa), root is used, cut and broken up like tea.
Boil 1 teaspoon per cup of water. Take three cups a day for a maximum of 6 days.

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) root is used, cut and broken up like tea.
Tea infusion of 1 teaspoon per cup of water, 3 cups per day.

In different dosages, many of these same herbs have a history of use for easing painful menstruation, or for stimulating childbirth. Other herbs used as emmenagogues are mentioned, but without dosages or preparation being discussed. Consult the Nissim book for details.

Remember! If you wait until you are pregnant to try and obtain these herbs, it might take you days or weeks to get them, and you will have missed the window of opportunity for their effectiveness. It is suggested to take the initiative before you are pregnant, and have all the ingredients on hand. From the cautionary notes given above, it should also be obvious that taking these herbs will usually produce some discomfort in the form of temporary cramping, and possibly slight nausea or dizziness. One should plan accordingly.”

 

RECIPE #3

Susan Weed in her book, Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Years, mentions:

“Vitamin C – Ascorbic acid is the safest and reportedly most effective
emmenagogue that can be used after the menstrual flow has failed to appear.
Women report success even when three weeks “late.” Six grams of vitamin C
(6000 mg) is the daily dosage needed to abort. Take 500 mg every hour for 12
hours a day for up to six days. CAUTION: This dosage may produce loose stools.”

*(I have also read about vitamin C being used during ovulation, please see my next post or Sister Zeus’ Vitamin C page for more info)

 

These recipes are just a few examples. There are more options out there, but I have found these to use items fairly easy to obtain, especially if you have access to the internet. Many of the herbs and ascorbic acid are available at health food stores as well. The next couple posts will discuss other herbal alternatives for birth control and coaxing that missing period into a visit!

Also remember, that if you use any of these methods, and that period is still in hiding, a certain appointment is rather important to have, because many of these items normally or in these dosages are not very helpful to the develpment of healthy fetuses….