Marthe Voegeli
Marthe Voegeli was a Swiss physician and pioneer in the field of male contraceptive research.
Marthe Voegeli MD | |
|---|---|
| Education | M.D., University of Paris and University of Berlin, Masters Degree from Columbia University |
| Years active | 1921–1950 |
| Known for | Heat-based male contraceptive |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Physician and medical researcher |
Between 1930 and 1950, Voegeli practiced medicine in India at her own private hospital. During this time, with the assistance of 9 volunteers, she experimented with a process of heat-based contraception.[1]
The process was simple and effective. A man would bathe his testes in a hot bath for 45 minutes a day for 3 weeks. On the completion of the 3 weeks, a period of infertility was recorded by the volunteers.
Different bath temperatures produced varying lengths of infertility. A bath of 116 °F (46.7 °C) would provide contraceptive protection for 6 months. A bath of 110° (43.3 °C) would provide contraception for at least 4 months.
After fertility returned in the males, the conception of healthy offspring with normal childhood development was recorded.[2]
Voegeli retired from medicine in 1950 and spent the next 20 years involved in efforts to publicise the contraceptive method, which were largely ignored.[3]
References
- Shouldn't You Be on the Pill? Archived 2009-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Male contraception: Heat methods Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
- CONTRACEPTION THROUGH TEMPORARY MALE STERILIZATION
External links
- Martha Voegeli papers at the Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College Special Collections