Emmenagogues: The Herbs, The History & The Koochie Secrets They Didn't Teach Us
Girl, our ancestors knew a thing or two about their reproductive health!
Hey, Koochie Kweens!
What if I told you that women have been using herbs to manage their periods and pregnancies for thousands of years? And I'm not just talking about sipping a little ginger tea when Aunt Flow starts acting up. I'm talking about women using plants to make choices about their own bodies, long before birth control pills, period aps, and modern medicine.
Some of these plants are called emmenagogues.
Emmena-WHAT!?
I know.. I know.. That's a big word. But the history behind it is even bigger.
So grab your tea. We're about to get into some herbal history they probably didn't teach you in school.
First Things First: What are Emmenagogues?
Emmenagogues (pronounced eh-MEN-ah-gogs) are herbs that have been used to help bring on a period or increase menstrual flow.
Back in the day, people believed that regular periods were an important sign of good health. If a woman's period was late, she might use certain plants to try to get things moving again.
But here's where things get interesting...
Some of these same herbs were also used to try to prevent or end pregnancies.
YUP!!!
Emmenagogues weren't just part of period care. They were also part of the history of birth control and abortion.
Now, that doesn't mean these herbs were always safe or that they worked every time. But their history shows us something important: women have been looking for ways to understand and manage their reproductive health for a very long time.
Ancient Women Had Their Own Koochie Knowledge
Let's travel back thousands of years...
In ancient Greece and Rome, plants were used for many health needs, including reproductive
care. One of the most famous plants was called Silphium. This plant grew in an area of North Africa that is now part of Libya. Silphium was so valuable that the ancient city of Cyrene even put its image on coins! Imagine an herb being so popular that it ends up on money!! Ancient writes described silphium as a plant used for birth control and other health needs. The pungent sap from the stem and roots was used in cough syrups and as a food additive. The Roman physician, Soranus, wrote that "women should drink the juice from an amount of silphium about the size of a chickpea, with water, once a month, for it only prevents conception but also destroys anything existing." Within a few centuries the supply was nearly gone. It became so valuable and difficult to find that it eventually disappeared.
Today, silphium is believed to be extinct. Scientists can't test the original plant to find out exactly how well it worked. But its story shows us how important reproductive plants were to some ancient communities.
Meet Some of the Herbs From History
Let's get familiar with a few plants that show up in old medical books and stories.
Pennyroyal: The Herb with a Dangerous Past
Pennyroyal is a plant in the mint family.
For more than 2,000 years, people have used it in attempts to bring on periods or end pregnancies. But, this is one herb we need to talk about carefully. Pennyroyal contains a toxic substance called pulegone. It has to be taken in precisely calculated amounts. It can cause serious liver damage, organ failure, and even death.
Queen Anne's Lace: The Wild Carrot
Have you ever seen those pretty white flowers growing along the roadside?
That's Queen Anne's lace, also called wild carrot. Grown in India, Middle East, and North America. Ancient medical writers described its seeds as a form of birth control. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, recommended the seeds taken orally, to prevent and terminate pregnancy. The seeds are actually the fruit of the plant. In modern day, women in India chew the seeds and swallow a teaspoonful of seeds with a glass of water.
Asafoetida: The Ancient Plant With a Strong Smell
Asafoetida is a plant resin that has been used in cooking and traditional medicine. It gives Worcestershire sauce its distinctive aroma. Ancient people also used it as a substitute for silphium because it was cheaper and more abundant. Some animal studies have explored whether plants in this family affect pregnancy. But animal studies don't prove that something works safely in humans.
Cotton Root: A Plant With a Powerful History
This one takes us into Black women's history.
Cotton root appears in historical accounts of reproductive care among enslaved women in the American south. Some enslaved women used plants and herbal knowledge to try to manage their reproductive lives. And we need to understand why that matters.
When Period Pills Had Secret Meanings
Now let's fast-forward to the 1800s.
Back then, talking openly about sex, pregnancy, and abortion was often considered improper.
So what did people do?
They got creative!!
Instead of openly advertising medicines for ending pregnancies, companies sold products called:
Female Monthly Pills
Female Remedies
Female Regulating Tablets
Medicines for Monthly Obstructions
Girllllllahhhh, the marketing was doing
gymnastics!
Some of these products were sold to people who wanted to bring on a late period. Others were used in attempts to end pregnancies. Advertisements often used secret or unclear wording because of social rules and laws. And some companies made big promises without proving they were safe or effective.
Sound familiar?
That's why it's important to question health products, even today.
Who Was Madame Restell?
One woman who became well known during this time was Ann Lohman, also called Madame Restell. She sold products advertised for women's reproductive concerns in 19th-century New York. She also provided abortion services. Her business became very successful, but she faced legal trouble as laws about abortion and reproductive medicine changed. Her story shows how women's reproductive care became tied to money, medicine, laws, and power.
And it raises a question: Who gets to make the decisions about women's bodies? Women themselves? Doctors? Lawmakers? That question has been part of reproductive history for generations.
What Happened to All This Herbal Knowledge?
For a long time, much of women's herbal knowledge was shared through families and communities. Mothers, grandmothers, healers, and other women passed down what they know. But as medicine became a formal profession, some traditional practices were pushed aside. Many doctors did not trust folk medicine. Laws also made some reproductive medicines harder to get. Over time, parts of this knowledge became less common.
Natural Doesn't Always Mean Safe!
Before you start searching for these herbs to make a special tea.. we need to talk.
Some of the plants in this history were poisonous. And some could cause serious harm without ending a pregnancy. Herbs like pennyroyal should not be used as DIY abortion methods as it causes organ damage or even death.
Today, modern medicine has given us much safer options. Two medicines, mifepristone and misoprostol, are commonly used together for medication abortions. Mifepristone blocks a hormone needed to keep a pregnancy going, while misoprostol causes the uterus to contract and empty. Together, these medicines are highly effective, with some studies reporting success rates above 99% in early pregnancy within the first 10 weeks. After April 2023, abortion providers came up with a protocol to use just misoprostol because of anti-abortion advocates seeking to reverse the FDA's approval of mifepristone. But when misoprostol is used by itself, the side effects include: nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and the efficacy is reduced to 99.6% to 93%.
Why This History Matters for Today's Koochie Kweens
So why are we talking about all of this?
Because understanding our bodies also means understanding our history.
For thousands of years, women have asked questions about their periods, fertility, pregnancy, and health. They have shared knowledge, searched for answers, and tried to make choices about their bodies. Some of those choices came with serious risks. Others helped shape the reproductive care we know today. And when we learn this history, we can better understand why safe healthcare, honest education, and informed choices matter.
Knowledge is power. Especially when it comes to your body.
Emmenagogues are a part of a much bigger story.
A story about periods, pregnancy, ancient medicine, black women's history, reproductive freedom, and the fight for safe healthcare. Our ancestors didn't have all the answers, neither do we.
But we have something powerful today: the ability to learn from history and use modern science to make informed decisions.
We can honor traditional knowledge without putting our health at risk. Because being a Koochie Kween is about knowing your body, knowing your history, and knowing that you deserve accurate information about your health.
Let's Have Some Koochie Konversation!
Did you know that herbs were once used as forms of birth control?
What surprised you most about this history?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. Lets keep learning together!
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. It explores the history of reproductive herbs and is not a guide to using them. Some herbs discussed can cause serious harm. Never use herbal remedies to induce abortion or treat a suspected pregnancy without qualified medical guidance.
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