[74]  A short note on contraceptives in the 17th Century:

 

      First historic evidence of women understanding their fertility cycles well enough to plan their families is of Africans and Native American women in the 17th and 18th centuries.

 

      Mary Burton-Gulliver’s manuscript is a groundbreaking document, proving that English women were also privy to this knowledge.

 

      We can assume from this one line in Mary’s memoir, that Stella was monitoring the quality of her cervical mucus, to make a judicious decision on the best time of the month to take a few days’ trip.

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      Other methods known at that time were coitus interruptus, breastfeeding, vinegar and of course, Condoms.