See an Italian washable pad, probably from the 1890s (and it looks much cooler than the ones above!) - See contemporary washable pads.
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepage | MUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | menarche booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor | olor | pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | puberty booklets for girls and parents | religion | Religión y menstruación | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants & panties directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

Norwegian washable menstrual pads from the
nineteenth century

Merethe Slensvik, of the SCA Mølnlycke Company of Norway - the company's now [in the 1990s] holding an exhibit of its history in a Norwegian town museum; take a look at what MUM shows of it - kindly sent me this photo of knitted menstrual pads made in Norway probably during the 19th century. She writes that they are among the oldest the company has. See the creator of the Norwegian museum exhibit, Elin Graabæk, holding a knitted pad in a local newspaper article.

Cloth pads of all kinds were probably the usual menstrual "device" before the introduction of commercial disposable pads (generally during or after the 1890s, depending on the country), but these are the first knitted pads I have ever seen! Lucky visitors can see them in the exhibit in Norway.

Speaking of the Mølnlycke Company, see a bit of its history on this site, starting with its first building.

See some similar German knitted pads, from 1935 and around 1900.

See an Italian washable pad, probably from the 1890s (and it looks much cooler than the ones above!) and an American one, date unknown. See contemporary washable pads.

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