# Boosting fertility in the 17th Century



## Brian G Turner (Oct 26, 2015)

Interesting piece on the BBC about boosting fertility in the 17th century, not least through certain "fertility waters":
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34399504


----------



## Ray McCarthy (Oct 26, 2015)

> Even now we have laws that there must be at least two doors between your kitchen and your toilet.


Really?
I never knew that. It would difficult not to have this, unless the toilet room was off the kitchen. Actually washing hands after seems to be rare according to my own observations at café, restaurants, Motorway service etc.

Probably having a holiday in the countryside was more effect than the waters. I never knew there was this connotation to the various waters. I must see what the story is in Germany etc towns of *bad are I believe the equivalent. (= German for Bath)


----------



## Dave (Nov 1, 2015)

If there is was actually a difference then it is likely to be mainly poor diet in the urban areas - as well as working with chemicals as tanners, hatters, cordwainers - but I thought taking the waters was for general health not for fertility.

Fertility in the seventeenth century did begin to fall off even though the age at marriage fell. It isn't very well explained. As the enclosed land began to increase, people no longer had enough land to support themselves. You were either a Yeoman with land or an agricultural laborer who might only get work in the harvest season. People didn't married until they could afford to have their own home, so there was a pool of young labour for the industrial factories who saw it as a chance to begin a family more quickly.

You also need to distinguish between fertility and family size. People also began contraception to limit family size, mainly by abstinence. Catholicism would not allow that but Puritan and non-conformist ideas were now spreading. However, family size increased again in the 1800's because infant mortality fell due to better health and diet. Much infant mortality in the 1600's probably wasn't fully recorded. Even baptisms were not fully recorded.


----------



## Ray McCarthy (Nov 1, 2015)

Dave said:


> People also began contraception to limit family size


Though earlier than that they had actual contraceptives. That's part of the later Mediaeval anti-witch thing, Kepler's mum (time of Galileo, who was WRONG and Kepler right viz epicycles vs elipical orbits) was accused of witchcraft, around  then was was one of the last papal bulls about it, just after they decided Astrology was a bad thing (all the Astronomers, Kepler and Galileo inc, cast horoscopes,)

Contraceptives have a complicated history.


----------



## BAYLOR (Nov 1, 2015)

Ray McCarthy said:


> Though earlier than that they had actual contraceptives. That's part of the later Mediaeval anti-witch thing, Kepler's mum (time of Galileo, who was WRONG and Kepler right viz epicycles vs elipical orbits) was accused of witchcraft, around  then was was one of the last papal bulls about it, just after they decided Astrology was a bad thing (all the Astronomers, Kepler and Galileo inc, cast horoscopes,)
> 
> Contraceptives have a complicated history.



Didn't they use things like sausage casings for condoms?


----------



## Ray McCarthy (Nov 1, 2015)

BAYLOR said:


> Didn't they use things like sausage casings for condoms?


No idea.
They had very weird pastes that actually worked.
Also abortion.


----------



## BAYLOR (Nov 1, 2015)

Ray McCarthy said:


> No idea.
> They had very weird pastes that actually worked.
> Also abortion.



The survival rate from those abortions must have been quite low given complete lack of sanitation and the primitive state of medical knowledge and technology.


----------



## Ray McCarthy (Nov 2, 2015)

BAYLOR said:


> survival rate


I think it depended on place and time. Some people seemed to know what they were doing. But certainly in Western Europe knowledge seemed to get lost from the 15th or 16th C. onwards. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_birth_control
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_abortion
http://listverse.com/2010/11/14/10-ancient-methods-of-birth-control/
Condom is pretty old
http://mentalfloss.com/article/4908...-and-coca-cola-9-fascinating-historic-methods

In the 1950s to 1960s there was a US teen belief in Coca-Cola. Unlike some of the ancient methods, that doesn't work even though it came in a handy glass applicator


----------



## Dave (Nov 2, 2015)

They also began to breast feed children longer. They were well aware that this had contraceptive properties. The breast feeding also helped reduce infant mortality.


----------

