1 Central Europe
C. 28,000–C. 25,000 BC
Paleolithic “Venus”
figures depict
nude women with
exaggerated fertility
characteristics.
Sparta
C. 600 BC
Weak or deformed
infants deemed
unfit for military
training are thrown
off a cliff.
2
Rome
C. 200 BC–C. 400
Extended family
members are
adopted to continue
lines of succession,
including the
emperors Caligula,
Nero, and Marcus
Aurelius.
3
4 Rome
C. 750 BC–C. 400
During the Lupercalia
festival, women
wishing to bear
children are whipped
with goat skins by men
running half-naked
through streets.
5
6
Ireland
C. 600
The Brehon Laws
include a provision
for entire tribes to
raise exposed or
abandoned children.
Western Europe
C. 600–C. 1100
Children are
abandoned or given
to the Church to serve
God, notably boys
who later became
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Boniface, and
Pope Innocent V.
9 Pavia, Italy
1784
Artificial insemination
is performed for first
time on a dog by
Lazzaro Spallanzani.
10 England
1978
In vitro fertilization
produces first successful
“test-tube baby,”
Louise Joy Brown.
8 Cologne
C. 1280
Brew made from a
hare’s vulva, a bull’s
heart, and honey is
drunk by women as an
aid to conception.
7 Castile
C. 1265
Law code of the
Castilians permits
fathers in besieged
castles to eat their
children.
Children per woman Age at first marriage
1. 92
2. 78
3. 5
4. 35
6. 42
WOMEN & CHILDREN
18
21
22
24
25
32
45
59
68
1. 92
Average:
Life expectancy
SWEDEN
UNI TED STATES
EGYPT
PAKISTAN
ETHIOPIA
AFGHANISTAN
81
84
75
COST OF RAISING A CHILD
FROM BIR TH TO AGE 17
United States average for child
in a middle-income* husband-wife family with two children.
*$57,600–$99,730 annual
TOTAL: $226,920
CLOTHING
HEALTHCARE
MISCELLANEOUS
TRANSPORTATION
FOOD
CHILD CARE &
EDUCATION
HOUSING $70,345
$38,576
$36,307
$31,769
$18, 154
$18, 154
$13,615
1800
1900
Seamless latex condoms
are mass-produced in the
U. S. Latex increases shelf
life from three months to
five years.
c. 1930
Biochemist Cecil Voge
finds that almost 60%
of U. S. condoms are
flawed; first industry-wide
inspection by FDA follows
a few years later.
1935
Surgeon General’s
report on AIDS advises
protection against the
disease by “always
using a rubber.” U. S.
sales increase 25%
over next two years.
1986
United States
1973–1995
Mia Farrow adopts ten
children from
developing nations,
among them a South
Korean girl named
Soon-Yi in 1977. Soon-Yi
later marries Woody
Allen after he and Farrow
separate in 1992.
United States
1965
Enovid, better known as
“the Pill,” is made widely
available after Griswold
v. Connecticut deems its
use a constitutional right.
Alta California
C. 1770
Children produced
from the rape of local
women by Spaniards
are strangled by
members of their
community.
Houston, TX
2001
Andrea Yates drowns
her five children in
a bathtub; during
retrial she is found
not guilty due to
postpartum
psychosis.
2000
Condomania, the
first U. S. store
devoted entirely to
the sale of condoms,
opens on Bleecker St.
in New York City.
1991
Erection-enhancing
condom, which manufacturer claims will increase
size and duration, gains
approval for sale within
the European Union.
2011
