Peggy went on The Pill in Season One.

As a married woman, Betty likely uses a diaphragm..... men considered condoms an unpleasant hindrance, so it was much more encumbent on a married woman to accomodate that.

Not sure if IUDs were in use at that time.

I think maybe Betty uses a diaphragm because when she and Don had their Valentine night rendezvous (sp?) just before she went into the bathroom to undress she opened her purse and showed Don something in it saying "I came prepared"...could have been condoms or foam, but most likely it was her diaphragm.
As to "what was available back then", I didn't marry until 1976, so I'm guessing---I think there were diaphragms, the pill, of course, "tube tying" for women, IUD's, contraceptive foams/creams, etc. and condoms, and I don't think vasectomies came along until later?? I probably forgot something...

Oh, this may be more than anyone wants to know, but the reason I said "I didn't marry until 1976, so I'm guessing"--which sounds like a prude!-- is because yes I knew about "some" of the methods before marriage (how I knew is personal of course but that's neither here nor there LOL!) but I found out about quite a few more when I went for my "engagement pelvic exam" (yes, we had to get them back then (pre-marriage/sex--you had to get one in order to get your birth control pills!--a la Peggy!!!) One interesting bit of knowledge my gyno (my mother's gyno, BTW) told me was that combining foam and condoms (bothersome!) was equal to the pill in preventing pregnancy.

I've long suspected Trudy would be told and want to take the baby, possibly after she and Peter learn they can't have children. After a little bitterness and screaming, she'll do the practical thing. Maybe it will even be an act of compassion on Peggy's part...She feels she can never give that poor kid the love he needs so when Peter leaks his sad news...

Just the pleasure of hearing Allison Brie doing Trudy screaming again at a cowering Pete...

Oh boy, regertz, another screaming Trudy fit! Love those...remember ol' Pete sitting there holding his traded-for-the-chip-and-dip gun looking so forlorn--just listening to her rant and rave? Classic! I hope Trudy shows up for an unannounced lunch with Pete and overhears Peggy's confession to Pete about the baby and charges in on them and there is a screaming fight! Go Trudy!

The amazing thing to me about birth control, is that the methods have not really changed for women in decades. The burden has pretty much always fallen on women to prevent pregnancy.
Oral contraceptives have become a little safer today because less hormones are used. In the 1960's when they were introduced they were more dangerous.

NancystoweOH, I agree with you. I think Pete and Trudy may adopt Peggy and Pete's baby. Trudy has been obviously upset about not getting pregnant, and this week's episode intro. shows Pete in the MD's office with the MD asking him if he ever "fathered a child". I wonder if he and Trudy are seeking fertility examinations.
Trudy will probably come around, once she calms down. That is, if the baby is Pete's, and Peggy decides to tell him. I don't believe there were paternity tests back then, just blood typing.

we can assume they are doing something or not
who cares!! if they have another child that would add to the story line
but i do recall betty's comment about being prepared

I remember back when you couldn't get your tubes tied without your husband's permission. And, this form of sterilization was out of the question unless you had at least two children! Oh, my!...what women were forced to do en route to controlling their bodies!....

I have a girlfriend who, in an attempt to circumvent the 'permission' issue, forged her husband's signature (he had said, "No!") had the surgery, and to cover it up pretended to have monthly cycles for the rest of their marraige (til her widowhood)!!!! Back in the day, just mentioning 'monthly' would send most men scrambling away (also a single-girl's way to put off overly-aggressive suitors), now we have 30-second tv commercials for feminine hygiene products! I remember being asked to leave the dinner table for asking a question about them! (I was about 7 or 8...)

The times, they were a changing!...

Greytone, what a story! Imagine pretending something like that throughout your entire marriage. (Although I think Sal is headed for the same thing, but I digress.)

I really can't see Peggy's family giving up the baby for adoption at this point. Even if Pete and Trudy find out, what are they going to do? Buy the kid? It just seems to soapy and a little too pat.

greytone, having your tubes tied *does not* stop a woman's monthy cycle. Only a hysterectomy would do that. A woman wouldn't need to pretend anything. It would be business as usual, except she wouldn't have to worry about pregnancy.

In the 60's, adoptions were much different. There wasn't as much oversight, and you could get a baby just by knowing the right doctor or lawyer. I suspect Pete could just "show up" with a baby and Trudy would be so happy she wouldn't ask questions about where it came from.

that is so cool you guys enjoyed Allison Brie's hissy-fit! she has a great voice, but i thought maybe i was a voice pervert or something.

i noticed her on a commercial the other day.... can't remember the product, but her line was something like, "thanks, Grandma!" she looks so young.

check out this clip i found by accident...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Dr6M-m85s

pretty funny.

I can't imagine, having nowhere to be my true self....I pain thinking about Sal having to hide his true self, and feeling just like Betty, having no one to talk to except a kid who is too young to understand. I was dumbfounded when my girlfriend told me that aforementioned story, and it amazed me to think of anyone tying themselves to such a lie...one that will eternally separate you from someone you trust above all others. I could never do it. I realized it is what differentiated her from me.

Last time I saw her she was dating someone 15 years her junior and had told him the same story so he would think she was still young enough to be fertile. (I concluded that some people, like her, don't operate from a position of truth, and love to live in that confusion.)

I think Don can't live the lie anymore and is evaluating the life he created from it. Peggy is trying to live a lie, Sal is living a lie and evaluating it's value. Betty has realized that what she had been told was true (her childhood cinderella fantasy) is just a facade on which she has based everything.

At my age, I prefer to avoid the lies, and stay away from those who would post my license....
...as I age I get better at avoiding both...

Betsy...Yes, you are right...I should have mentioned this friend wanted and got a complete hysterectomy and not just the tubal ligation....

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