Enemas in Britain

Try "Grin and bear down"

In Call the Midwife there are several enema scenes.

In one, a woman about to give birth tells the midwife she shaved herself. The midwife asks whether she also took an enema, since she is so familiar with the procedure. The woman says she does not want an enema because it's undignified. A woman from her family tells her something like if you wanted dignity you would not have got pregnant. She is given the enema, though all we see, if I recall correctly, is a trainee midwife carrying the chamber pot downstairs.

In another episode one of the midwives is pregnant and about to give birth. She wishes to elude the enema as well, but the other midwives smile and prepare it 'hot, high and the hell of a lot" as the head midwife likes to say.

So it appears that a large soapy enema was standard procedure for public service midwives in postwar Britain. However women who experienced childbirth in that era are now in their 80s or 90s... Also they may not be willing to talk about something so undignified. I note that in one episode, the head midwife tells the woman all men are excluded from the birth room, probably to preserve dignity. Most men from that time probably never heard about enemas during childbirth.

May I compare this to another practice now almost unknown? When my mom grew up, it was commonplace for parents to slip a soap suppository into constipated children. My mother hated that. I guess hardly anybody under 50 has experienced this practice and, aside from discussing such issues with old geezers, it's impossible to know about this.

Oh my gosh, Call the Midwife is literally my favorite show ever. I binge watched yesterday and this morning now that I'm on Christmas break for college.😃 @Pecan_Nutjob many enema scenes indeed.

Caresabouthealth: I did not see all episodes. Any more enema scenes than the two ones I described here?

@Sean Well of course I can only tell you what she wrote in the memoir. According to her, the whole school was given 'white mixture' routinely in the morning, I can't remember the interval, every week or three days or similar. I can't quite see her mis-remembering this, translating one instance into a regular occurance, but I've no way to find out obviously. Ironically it seems the lady in question now lives in the states!

Ah... here is the relevant passage.

At the end of the hall-way we could see another lady in white, sitting behind a table covered with some very large bottles. These bottles appeared to be filled with white chalk which had settled to the bottom, leaving a clear watery substance on top. One by one we had to step up to the table to receive a little cup filled with this dreadful substance, which we soon found out was known as ‘white mixture’. The most foul-tasting concoction anyone has ever had to partake of, especially first thing in the morning. My whole body gagged. We were completely revolted, as only children can be. The white powder had to be licked off the lips, teeth and gums; this we were told would be given to us twice a week for the rest of our school lives. The rumour that went around school was that this mixture was given to the British troops in France during World War I. If this was so, life in the trenches must have been even worse that we had imagined, because hands were shooting up in every classroom all through ‘white mixture’ day – no questions asked as to where we were going when we were given permission to leave the room, and hurried down the hall.

It came to pass that after a few weeks of this, we found a solution to this ordeal. Older girls had two ways of coping; you held your white mixture in your mouth all the way back to the dormitory bathroom and deposited the revolting stuff into the sink, and after rinsing your mouth you were home free. Or … you took your hot water bottle with you and transferred the mixture from mouth to bottle as soon as the coast was clear.

Totally OT, but if anyone wants an interesting read, here's the link to the entire memoir. I'm intrigued as to which school it was.

http://www.wisearchive.co.uk/story/memories-of-boarding-school-life-in-london-1930s-1940s-2012-part-1/

The author of the story certainly has some period knowledge but I can't really tell whether it's an actual memoir or a work of fiction. It has many factual references, but so does Harry Potter.

There are other, similar stories in the archives.

I question the authenticity of such tales because of stories including props such as The Enema Chair.... a commode chair with a seat like a toilet and a rectal nozzle connected to an irrigating bag or can. There were supposedly used in the Victorian era, but AFAIK no actual images or artifacts survive.

Examples of the almost mythical enema bench have survived, but not an enema chair.

Whether fact or fiction, it's still a fun read.

These bottles appeared to be filled with white chalk which had settled to the bottom, leaving a clear watery substance on top. One by one we had to step up to the table to receive a little cup filled with this dreadful substance, which we soon found out was known as ‘white mixture’.

This is consistent with "white mixture" mixed with water. I presume the bottles were shaken well to mix the solids and liquid before dosing. The Sulfate tastes foul; the Carbonate tastes chalky.

White Mixture is a simple mix of Magnesium Carbonate and Magnesium Sulfate. The Sulfate dissolves in the water to make a clear solution; the Carbonate stays a white powder and settles out.

When ingested, the Sulfate is promptly laxative, but the Carbonate's action is probably slower.

The effect could be a fairly rapid urge to poo plus prolonged laxative effects

@Sean I'm 99.9 percent sure the memoir I link to is factual because it's not on a fiction or fetish website. I've also read stories here that I wonder if they are fact or fiction, several stories by an author called 'Tom' spring to mind, though he has obviously done a lot of research. English Boarding School Remembered is another one, the story apparently copied from a letter written from one old lady to another. Yes I've wondered about devices such as enema chairs and irrigation tubs and so-on. Any idea of Enema cushions really ever existed?

@Daniel1984

Oh, enema cushions existed for certain, at least in the USA. The most popular and well known was the JBL Cascade. My avatar is a pic of an original. There were several other similar devices sold by Sears and Davol, as I remember, but they are extremely rare.

It is quite likely some were sold in the UK or taken there by travelers between the wars. I've never seen an English version.

As to enema chairs, they are still mythical IMO. There were enema benches, but I'm pretty certain they were only for administering enemas, not expelling them. They are a variant of the French Soi Meme (Self administering) sit-on piston syringes.

There were certainly "colonic chairs" of at least two versions:

One was a toilet seat replacement that essentially held the nozzle in the user's anus

The other was essentially a bedside commode, fitted as above.

Both= are well after the Victorian era. There are several modern versions available today.

The idea is you sit on the nozzle, get filled, and release into the toilet or bucket. They sell for about $50 and up. If you sit for a while, it's pretty much like an open system colonic and you will get well ceaned out.

@Sean From what I've read... in stories, using an emena cushion induced very painful cramps, but I'm imagining this is an exaggeration. In every story I've seen them featured they are being used for punishment enemas. I'm not sure how an enema bench would work. Is that the device that can be adjusted to put the recipient into a head down arse up position? Not sure if you're aware but I'm blind so have never seen any of this stuff even in pictures. If I've said this here already apologies, I forget heh

@Daniel1984

Actually, in my experience, enema cushions are a very gentle and comfortable to really fill someone up. The pressure is comparable to a low hanging bag and the position allows the person to relax. If the solution has additives or is hot, the enema could be really painful, but that's true of any enema.

One thing does stand out about enema cushions. They are very good for mind games. A person can be told to sit on it and as soon as they tire and relax, the enema starts to flow. This can be a real attitude adjuster.

An enema bench is usually a smallish padded wooden bench, akin to a piano bench, fitted with an upwards pointing rectal nozzle. The user sits on it, bare ass, with the nozzle in and water is pumped upwards, usually by a simple piston pump. Pump details are unknown. Pressure from the pad presses against the user's anus, aiding water retention. I don't think the user expels the enema while sitting on the bench, but into a handy chamber pot or commode.

As too enema chairs, there may well be some confusion and fantasy. I suspect that the enema chairs were more for colonic irrigation than the relief of constipation or punishment. An enema given for constipation is usually designed to be retained for best effect. Retaining requires effort. Sitting upright, without a retention aid, makes this much harder. Also, there appears to be no mechanism for nozzle removal before pooing.

If OTOH the chair is actually for colonic irrigation, it all makes perfect sense. The design is perfect for the fill and flush at will of an open colonic system and the user poos around the nozzle.

Google Images is a useful research tool for pics of this stuff. The texts may not make sense, but look at the pictures. Our ancestors were not stupid. They made things to suit a purpose, hence enema gear was designed to be used. The design gives clues to the intended purpose.

Here is the definitive answer as to the existence of enema chairs. https://imgur.com/m3HgGlp This is a US Patent for an enema chair. It is from 1846. There is a lever to take the nozzle away from the user and allow them to empty into a receptacle under the seat. It also has a pump so that the fluid can be injected. If someone took the time and the expense to obtain a patent, you can be sure they meant business.

Caresabouthealth: I did not see all episodes. Any more enema scenes than the two ones I described here?

@caresabouthealth Any chance you can answer?

@caresabouthealth Any chance you can answer?

Probably none. Their account is inactive pending deletion.

@Daniel1984

My sincere apologies. I just happened to re-read your post and saw I missed that you were blind in my first reading.