4 ms·
> there’s just weren’t nearly as many of them. Unless the birthrates were higher. If people gave birth to litters of fifty of which all but a few were expected
by pessimizer 3y ago
> there’s just weren’t nearly as many of them.
Unless the birthrates were higher. If people gave birth to litters of fifty of which all but a few were expected to die, the average lifespan would be in the single digits.
- runnerup 3y agoWomen often died during childbirth. In medieval times some estimates put it at 30% of women died during one of their childbirths (but I can’t find rates on a per pregnancy basis and don’t know how many children they were having in average). Estimates are that up to 1-in-50 pregnancies killed the mother in antiquity. I suspect it was exceptional if a woman bore more than 6 children, although obviously some women would have more than ten. I believe the baby boomer generation had large families due to excellent modern medical care post WW2.
- pessimizer 3y agoI definitely wasn't thinking about that, good point. Fewer old women.