Vagina Museum
Quick quiz! How common do you think pregnancy before marriage was in 18th century America? What percentage of babies were conceived out of wedlock at the time?
8%
4%
18%
17.1%
38%
46.3%
58%
32.6%
Poll ended at .
Jan 20, 2023 at 1:13pmWeb
Show threadVagina MuseumJan 20, 2023

The answer to this question is that we don't know for sure, because there aren't enough records to tell exactly what the population average was.

However, what we *can* tell you, from a primary source of the extensive diaries of Martha Ballard, a midwife in rural Maine between 1785 and 1812, among her patients 38% of them had conceived before getting married.

Show threadVagina MuseumJan 20, 2023
Born in 1735, Martha Ballard kept a daily diary covering her life, her work, and the weather in the Massachusetts frontier in present-day Maine. The diary spans 27 years and has over 1400 pages. From this rich data, lots of things can be inferred, such as that people on the frontiers did a lot of fucking in the early summer, because there were seasonal spikes of births in February-April.
Show threadVagina MuseumJan 20, 2023

Among Ballard's duties as a midwife was to testify in paternity suits. A 1668 law required midwives to ask unmarried women in labour the identity of the father of the baby, with the rationale that nobody would lie while giving birth.

Once she had "taken testimony", Ballard would give evidence in court, and usually the parents of the baby would marry.

Show threadVagina MuseumJan 20, 2023
One of these cases involved Ballard's own son, Jonathan. Ballard attended a woman called Sally Pierce in labour, and Sally named Jonathan as the father of the baby. The couple later married, and had a grand total of 13 children together.
Show threadVagina MuseumJan 20, 2023
There doesn't appear to be any judgment towards unwed mothers within the diary. Premarital pregnancy is presented as a basic fact of life in late 18th and early 19th century Maine. The main challenge there appeared to be for society and the law was establishing paternity so that the father could support the baby instead of the state.
Show threadVagina MuseumJan 20, 2023
If the number of babies conceived to unmarried parents seems a little higher or lower than you expected, it's worth remembering that around the same time abortion was not strictly prohibited and Benjamin Franklin himself was giving out recipes for how to induce it https://masto.ai/@vagina_museum/109715757585144488
Vagina Museum (@[email protected])

OLD THREAD REPOST In 1758, Benjamin Franklin published an instructional manual containing matters "more immediately useful to us Americans." The book contained advice on all sorts of topics including writing, bookkeeping, arithmetic... and a recipe for inducing abortion.

Mastodon
Show threadWayofCatsJan 20, 2023
@vagina_museum Take a bath and celebrate, essentially 🤣
Show threadAnniebeeknitsJan 20, 2023
@vagina_museum This is fascinating, but 38% of women having conceived before marriage doesn't mean 38% of babies having been conceived before marriage. Presumably if a woman conceived before marriage, then married to legitimize that baby, she might go on to have multiple other children conceived within the marriage, no?
Show threadLauraJan 20, 2023
@anniebeeknits Yes, that's the case in one of the examples the @vagina_museum gave: https://masto.ai/@vagina_museum/109721902885599267
Vagina Museum (@[email protected])

One of these cases involved Ballard's own son, Jonathan. Ballard attended a woman called Sally Pierce in labour, and Sally named Jonathan as the father of the baby. The couple later married, and had a grand total of 13 children together.

Mastodon
Show threadAnniebeeknitsJan 20, 2023
@lauravivanco But they hadn't posted the further explanation when I responded to their post. @vagina_museum
Show threadAlisonW ♿🏳️‍🌈♾️Jan 20, 2023
@vagina_museum
Suprises me that it was that low. Given that marriage was as much about having an heir to inherit and / or to look after you in old age I would think it very likely that they would check that they could conceive before getting the banns read.
Show threadAngela Glansbury 🚽Jan 20, 2023
@vagina_museum
I'm looking forward to the answer to this one. Especially given what I think the age you could marry was at the time.
Show threadSpacedlawJan 20, 2023
@vagina_museum Considering slaves systematic rape, I should think quite a lot...