What did the Ancient Egyptians use as birth control?

Honey and acacia

Records dating back to 1850 BC show us that some of the most popular ancient Egyptian birth control methods included the use of honey, acacia fruit, and acacia leaves as natural spermicides. Women would mix honey and acacia fruit and soak lint or cotton in the mixture.

Crocodile dung

Using probably the least hygienic ingredient used to prevent pregnancy, ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians would mix crocodile dung with other ingredients to form a pessary.

That isn’t the only record of animal feces being used as ancient contraceptives. In ancient India and the Middle East, people tried elephant feces in a similar way to prevent pregnancy.

Lead and mercury

Long ago, people freely applied and consumed poisonous substances such as heavy metals that we now know are extremely dangerous.

All across the world, ancient civilizations used heavy metals like mercury, lead, and arsenic to prevent pregnancy. Ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Chinese women would drink liquid mercury, liquid lead, or arsenic — or a combination of these — to prevent conception. Unfortunately, these poisonous substances would also lead to kidney and lung failure, as well as brain damage. But they did work as birth control!