Fertility treatment is common for the 1 in 6 people struggling with infertility. But what about infertility and fertility customs throughout cultures and history?
I often write about infertility and assisted reproductive therapies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). I thought it might be interesting to research some fertility customs and traditions throughout history. Before modern science, humans used rituals as their fertility treatments, trying almost everything under the sun to get pregnant.
Fertility Treatments – Some Oddball Approaches
There have been some highly creative customs and rituals used by people over time to get pregnant. These fertility treatments were thought to increase the likelihood of pregnancy for any number of reasons.
Easter
Did you know that Easter began as a fertility ritual? It’s true. What is now a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ, began as a pagan fertility treatment.
Easter falls in a time period which was, for various reasons, the best time for ancient families to have babies. The concept behind this ritual was fairly straightforward. Everyone got together, had a good time, and set the mood for some hanky panky later on. The original Easter celebrated birth – it was held in early spring – and fertility. That’s actually where the tradition of giving chocolate bunnies comes from. Remember what you’ve always heard about rabbits?
Watering the Girls
Watering the girls is one of the fertility treatments I’ve found that actually sounds like fun. In Holloko, Hungary, men and women crowd the streets. Wearing their traditional garb, they have what I would call a giant water fight. However, in this water fight, only the girls get wet. This tradition, dating back to the 2nd Century, is thought to cleanse the women and make them more fertile.
The Cerne Abbas Giant
In Dorset, England, there is a giant carved into the ground of the rolling hills of the area. This 180 foot giant boasts a giant club as well as another giant accessory. It’s thought that sleeping on the giant will make women more fertile. An interesting fact to note is that, according to the Office of National Statistics, the towns surrounding the Cerne Abbas Giant have some of the highest birth rates in the country.
Bird’s Nest Soup
This is one of the quirkiest customs that I found used as a fertility treatment. In Asia, women who want to get pregnant eat a concoction used by Chinese medicine practitioners called Bird’s Nest Soup. This soup is made with the nests of Swiftlet birds. This is the kicker. The birds make their nests exclusively with their own saliva.
A Pregnancy Test Under the Mattress
This is one of the fertility treatments I’ve found that is actually modern. According to the myth, if you sleep with a pregnancy test under the mattress, you are far more likely to become pregnant.
Fertility Treatments – Historical Customs Are Sometimes Quirky
There you have it. 5 customs used as fertility treatments that you probably didn’t know. There are many more oddball fertility treatments based in tradition and myth than I’ve listed here. I just chose the ones that were completely family friendly.
If you’re looking for an extremely interesting browser session. Hit Google, and you’ll find all sorts of fertility treatments that are far, far more out there than any of these.
Those are some crazy customs! The only one I have heard about is the one associated with Easter. You learn something every day!
Christy: I know! I know! There are some crazy customs associated with so many things really.
OMG, the giant with the giant is hilarious! Isn’t it amazing what we humans will try to get pregnant?
Luckily I never had issues getting pregnant, but I am glad there is help out there for those who need it.
I must say the only ones I was aware of was Easter. The others are new to me.
Wow, I have never heard of these customs before. It’s interesting, I am curious about the Bird’s nest soup.
I have never heard of these customs! What an interesting look at our history of fertility.
I love hearing stuff like this – it’s so funny how much medicine has evolved and while I’m sure some people still occasionally use these methods it’s nice to know that there are better scientifically proven fertility treatments now.
I hadn’t heard of the pregnancy test under the mattress one. You’d think we’d know better by now!
great information. i’ll be sharing this with a few of my friends.
The watering the girls looks like a fun way to cleanse and also bring in fertility. These are really nice customs to try especially if pregnancy is hard to come.
Those sound like really fun traditions, especially watering the girls. I am always down for a good water fight! LOL!
These are so interesting! I definitely have not heard of sleeping with a pregnancy test under the mattress.
I love learning new things every day! I really enjoyed your blog post and had not heard of these weird customs about fertility! Imagine 100 years from now what people will say about our customs now re fertility?
The watering girls sounds fun. IN the Philippines, there is a yearly fiesta where couples dance in the street. It is believed that when you dance there, your wish to conceive will be granted.
Thanks for sharing this. Didn’t know any of these so I definitely learnt something today.
These all sound very interesting. I wonder how many of them actually worked for people that tried them. I don’t plan on testing any but its nice to read about other people’s customs.
If I had known about any of these when I was TTC for 6 long years, trust me, I would have tried them! I think when you are trying so hard, you are really willing to do just about anything, even the strangest stuff.
These are interesting facts. I do not think i could eat a bird nest soup lol. I did not know these.
Thankfully I don’t have any firtility issues! So gals that there are ways to help those who do though 🙂
These are so weird customs used for fertility treatments indeed. I have to admit the only one I would try is sleeping on the giant. The water fight I would try too. Thanks for sharing.
I have never heard of these treatments before. However, I can easily understand why they’re not popular today. 🙂
Lol. These are actually so new to me.. never heard of them, literally! Thanks for sharing them.
I’m all about the water fight one, sounds like a lot of fun. I’m good on kids though, with mine, hers and ours, I’m at 7.