Disappearance of Information in the Middle Ages

While there is a variety of contraceptive recipes to look into from the Ancient world, information and evidence of discussions of women's health disappeared as time moved into the Middle Ages (5th through the 15th centuries).[1] With the increase in religious influence and belief that sex without reproduction should be looked down upon, information about how to prevent pregnancy became relegated to “women’s knowledge” and was no longer documented. This is why this project now jumps to the modern day.[2]

Unfortunately, the stories from the Middle Ages are currently largely untold. Who knows what may be found in the future, but for now, we can help our future by preserving our present.

Sources:

[1] Riddle, John M. “Chapter 1 - Populations and Sex.” Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the

Renaissance. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1994, pp. 1-15,

hdl.handle.net/2027/heb01463.0001.001. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.

[2] Riddle, John M., and J. Worth Estes. “Oral Contraceptives in Ancient and Medieval Times.”

American Scientist, vol. 80, no. 3, 1992, pp. 226–33. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/29774642. Accessed 1 May 2025.