 Heinemann says that oral and anal intercourse were often punished by more years of penance than for premeditated murder, as they prevented conception from occurring.Although practice varied, menstruating women were often forbidden to attend Mass or receive Communion, in which the Latin Church took a more moderate stance than the Eastern Churches.Since the blood from childbirth was believed more harmful than menstrual blood, the Synod of Trier (1227) ruled that women who had just given birth had to be "reconciled with the Church" before they allowed to enter church.