Envelope containing contraceptive prescription and diagram of safe times for sex

This prescription is significant because it is a rare survival of one woman's use of contraception on the eve of her marriage in 1940. At that time, it was very difficult for single women to get hold of contraceptive devices, and even if they could, there were no completely reliable methods (the contraceptive pill did not arrive in New Zealand until 1961). Around the time of this prescription, rubber diaphragms had become New Zealand women’s contraceptive of choice – although they were hard for unmarried women to get hold of, they had to be fitted by a doctor, and generally only wealthier women could afford them.

The prescription is for a tube of Orthogynol spermicidal jelly and an applicator which were used in conjunction with a diaphragm. The recipient, Dorothy Thelma Easton (1919-2004), was issued this prescription only two days before her marriage in 1940. Interestingly the prescription was issued to her husband-to-be, and she later recalled that it was all the contraceptive advice she had.

The prescription also comes with a diagram setting out the safe times for sex during the menstrual cycle to avoid pregnancy. This was known as the ‘rhythm method’ – only having sex when the woman was at an infertile point in her cycle. The method gained popularity in the 1930s, when scientists identified the safest time for sex. Many couples adopted this method, especially Catholics.

This prescription indicates that on the eve of their marriage, the Eastons prepared to be doubly careful not to conceive by adopting two contraceptive methods – a diaphragm plus the rhythm method. Their first child was born two and half years after their wedding.