Women have long kept their health lore confined to their close female communities. Until the late 19th century, birthing was the domain of women and they carried this, as well as other women’s health knowledge, forward. Natural birth control (often herbs) had to keep secret. There is lore that women once segregated themselves at the time of menses, and there in seclusion they found comfort from and companionship with other women.
Before scopolamine and epidurals, ibuprofen and anti-depressants, women likely used Cannabis and many other botanical medicines for pain in labor as well as for a host of other female issues.
There are written records dating back to 3000 BCE indicating the use of Cannabis for treating female health issues such as migraine, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, augmenting labor, hemorrhage, heavy menses, uterine pain and contractions, “sore breasts,” to enhance milk flow, gonorrhea, urinary tract infections, easing painful menstrual cramps, assisting in long labors and for “melancholia” (what we know as PMS?).
Read the full article here (ladybud.com)
Comments
Excellent article. In my
Excellent article. In my ancient past (college daze in the 70s), I knew an elderly woman who lived on a farm in west Tennessee and when she saw how poorly we city-boys were doing our ''homework,'' she gave us some great tips on the best places and ways to plant it. And she told us how we'd have to come back in a three weeks or so (it was about 115 miles away) and pinch-back the tops of the plants if we wanted stronger ''homework.'' While we planted, she regaled us with stories about how they used cannabis for all kinds of ailments and ''women's miseries'' (as she called it) back in the early 1900s.