English methods of birth control

1915 1915 1910s 18 pages 18 intercourse than any other method, except perhaps the soluble pessary it cannot easily be used, however, by a woman who has not had a child ; and it is most important that the right size should have been chosen, and that it has been properly placed. In Holland the Dutch...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966
Institution:MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Language:English
English
Published: [1915?]
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10796/4D948B3B-9855-4BAA-A642-BE4F91C53F3D
http://hdl.handle.net/10796/81AA5FCF-33A5-4050-A7CA-2D24B7BF53BF
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Summary:1915 1915 1910s 18 pages 18 intercourse than any other method, except perhaps the soluble pessary it cannot easily be used, however, by a woman who has not had a child ; and it is most important that the right size should have been chosen, and that it has been properly placed. In Holland the Dutch Neo-Malthusian League has a list of medical men and women and of specially trained nurses who help poor women in the choosing and applying of Mensinga Pessaries, and the League has been certified by Royal decree as a society of public utility. The first lady doctor in Holland has for many years given free advice to poor women in the use of this check. There are a number of other methods of prevention of conception, but those above described are probably the most satisfactory and hygienic, and offer sufficient choice for most people. WHICH IS THE BEST METHOD? The answer to this question depends upon (1) whether the husband or the wife will take the trouble, (2) whether the greatest security is required, and (3) whether there is any fear of communicating disease. The simplest and cheapest method is undoubtedly withdrawal on the part of the husband, and it is very reliable if he has sufficient control. The sheath is, of course, perfectly reliable if care is taken to make sure there is no hole, and to leave space for the fluid. If either the husband's or the wife's organs have become diseased, it is the only method which protects the other partner against infection, and it should always be used in this case. The methods used by the wife are more troublesome than those employed by the husband ; and as the wife undergoes the trouble and pain of child-bearing, the husband ought in fairness to relieve her of as much trouble as possible in prevention. Irrigation, when done immediately after, is fairly reliable, but rather troublesome. Both the soluble pessary and the Mensinga Pessary have the great advantage that they may be used, if necessary, without the knowledge of the husband, so that a woman may escape having children by a drunken or diseased husband. Although married people ought to be able to agree as to when to have children, and although no woman ought to marry unless she is willing to have at least one child (unless her husband has agreed to the contrary), yet no woman should become a mother against her will. If she feels that she cannot welcome a child, that her health will not stand the strain, that there is a risk of having a sickly or diseased child, or that her circumstances will not allow her to bring up her baby decently, she ought to take every precaution against becoming a mother — for the sake of herself, her child, and the race. In conclusion, it should be repeated that none of the methods of preventing conception can be guaranteed as absolutely certain. When intelligently used, most of them are satisfactory, as is shown by the small families of the educated classes. When, however, the wife's health is such that the having of a child would be dangerous, the 15X/2/566/51
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