1930

 

"Eight children and no bath, no wash tubs... copper and a tap in an outside yard and women struggling with washing in bitter weather."

A woman's plight in the 1930s depression as described by Family Planning pioneer Mary Dobbie.

 

When Family Planning, then called the Sex Hygiene and Birth Regulation Society,was established in 1936, methods of contraception were basic and unreliable, and deaths from illegal abortions were common.

The McMillan Inquiry in 1937 revealed that at least one pregnancy in five ended in abortion, and that the majority of women dying from illegal abortions were married with four or more children.

Amid an outcry from the authorities and 'polite society', Family Planning began to promote the benefits of birth control.