birth control

birth control techniques appear to have been widely available long before the 19th cent. Herbal mixtures were advocated to reduce the sex drive or induce abortion. Contemporaries also Seem to have been aware of the withdrawal technique since at least the early 18th cent., when the practice of coitus interruptus was linked by quack literature to an awesome list of debilitating medical complaints. Male contraceptives were advertised by the early 18th cent., when such ‘armour’, made of animal gut, was used to avoid contracting venereal infections. The 1820s and 1830s saw the first open discussion of birth control techniques. More public debate followed the creation of the so‐called Malthusian League (1877–1927), which distributed some 3 million pamphlets advocating birth control.

Before the third quarter of the 19th cent., however, there is little statistical evidence that English couples were practising much family limitation. Birth control before 1870 was restricted to higher social classes and some groups of industrial workers. All this changed after 1870 when, within a few generations, Britain underwent the so‐called fertility transition. Between 1880 and 1930 the fertility of women of child‐bearing age declined by over 60 per cent and the average size of British families fell by almost two‐thirds. This declining birth rate was due largely to the adoption of birth control within marriage. It is also clear that the contraceptive techniques used in the early stages of this decline were largely traditional methods such as abstinence, coitus interruptus, and ‘safe periods’ rather than mechanical aids such as condoms, caps, or sponges. The adoption of birth control within marriage may have been due to a new decision by women to limit the size of their families, prompted by the impact of feminist arguments, growing information regarding the dangers of repeated childbirth, and the impact of universal compulsory schooling in 1880, which reduced the contribution children might make to the household economy.