Right, so I guess the question I have is, did the desired number of kids go down, or did everyone pre-1850s just put up with having more kids than they wanted? How many kids do people want to have?
Comment on How much has the ratio of accidental vs intentional pregnancies changed over time?
rumschlumpel@feddit.org 1 day ago
most humans were conceived unintentionally
I’d assume that most people who are married expect at least some children, even if they don’t have much control about the exact times and numbers.
match@pawb.social 1 day ago
BenM2023@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Pre 1850s, in most cases, you needed to have lots of offspring regardless of wanting them or not… Mortality was high.
kurcatovium@lemm.ee 1 day ago
Not sure how it was elsewhere but where I live people usually had more kids because there were no retirement and once your body was weak you needed someone to provide for you. And more children = better chance of providing for their parents.
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 1 day ago
But there is a difference between a married couple intentionally creating a large family and a married couple that likes to fuck and didn’t intend to marry each other in the first place until a baby came along.