Prominent theories posit that fertility control liberalization, such as the pill, led to rising unwed childbearing among the young and unmarried, an immiseration effect. This view is challenged by studying local oral contraceptive sales data and births following the pill's introduction in Sweden. I present a model where women's demand for premarital sex is a function of customs for preventing unwed births and equilibrium determined promiscuity norms. Consistent with the model, unwed births from the 19th century are a positive and highly robust predictor of the pill's adoption, and point to historical illegitimacy as an important predictor of latent demand for the pill. The theory motivates an empirical model to estimate how pill use altered unwed births among teens. The analysis finds the pill's diffusion reduced unwed childbearing among teens in absolute and relative terms, consistent with the model predictions. Moreover, the rising share of births occurring outside of wedlock is driven by a steep decline in marital childbearing coincident with the pill’s introduction, consistent with an empowerment effect.