People were so busy farming, gardening, cooking, laundering, sewing their own clothes, etc. that the time and and energy for sex was severely limited. We don’t know if pre-marital sex was uncommon. Fifty years ago, a South American friend told me that women frequently engage in anal sex so that they will be virgins on their wedding day, or to avoid pregnancy. On the whole the men didn’t seem to mind. Could this have been a factor in earlier centuries. Also before men codified and monopolized the medical scene, women healers and herbalists knew ways to prevent pregnancy and no doubt were frequently consulted by women.
A lot of young women were simply not allowed to be alone with males prior to marriage. There wasn’t the same opportunity. The idea, in 1880, that a young man the father had just met would be allowed to take his daughter away from the home and supervision of the father for hours after dark just wasn’t even contemplated.
‘Dating’ wasn’t done prior to the invention of the auto. And even then a lot of times the young men would come to the womans house for ‘courting’ and they’d sit on the couch and talk (while mom dispatched a younger cousin or sibling to keep an eye on them) and have dinner and maybe visit some more after. And then the young man would go home.
It’s the reason that girls always had chaperones. Either an aunt, older married cousin, or older married sister. Young unmarried women were not, largely, doing business alone.
The idea that young unmarried women be given access to and time alone with young men is a new thing. In 1930 the young woman wasn’t allowed to leave her home with the young man. In the 1950’s she could. And the opportunity to have sex in the backseat of his car became a possibility. NOW, the moms actually let the guys spend the night in the girls bedrooms. Coed sleepovers are all the rage in more ‘enlightened’ circles.
Times change.
Well I suppose that is possible. As you say we do not know. But for sure in 17th-18th century Western world pregnancy out of wedlock was very rare.