In today's time, if a woman wants to find out about her pregnancy, she has many options like medical tests and pregnancy kits. These kits are very simple and accurate in detecting pregnancy. But have you ever wondered how women used to detect pregnancy in the earlier times, when there were neither pregnancy kits nor any machines? Let's find out.
Detecting pregnancy through ancient methods
1. Use of wheat and barley
In ancient Egypt and Rome, women used to detect pregnancy by testing their urine. They would put wheat and barley seeds in their urine. If the wheat grew, it meant the woman was not pregnant, while if the barley grew, it meant the woman was pregnant. This was a type of old and informal test.
2. Pulse test
In ancient China, pulse testing was used to detect pregnancy. In this method, a trained person would guess pregnancy by feeling the pulse on the woman's wrist. This method was also quite popular, although it was not based on science.
3. Physical changes
Women also predicted pregnancy through changes in their bodies, such as cessation of menstruation, vomiting, fatigue, and changes in the breasts. All these symptoms indicated the possibility of being pregnant.
Traditional methods in India
In India too, there were many traditional methods of detecting pregnancy.
Mixing jaggery with urine: One method was that if a woman's urine foamed when mixed with jaggery, it meant she was pregnant. If it didn't, the woman was not pregnant.
Use of turmeric: Apart from this, pregnancy was also predicted by mixing turmeric in the woman's urine and observing the change in its colour. If the colour of turmeric changed, it was considered a sign of pregnancy.
Ayurvedic Herbs: Some Ayurvedic herbs are also used to detect pregnancy.
Invention of the pregnancy test kit
Pregnancy test kits were invented in the 20th century. These kits made the process of detecting pregnancy very simple and accurate. These kits detect the presence of HCG hormone in a woman's urine, which is produced only during pregnancy. This helps women to confirm their pregnancy and also gives them a chance to seek proper medical advice. Thus, in earlier times, many informal and traditional methods were adopted to detect pregnancy, whereas in today's time this process has become very easy and scientific. With the help of pregnancy kits, women can easily find out if they are pregnant and avail health services.
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