My father came from a family of 8 siblings; my mother from a family of 7 children. I had 30 first cousins. This was very common among Catholic families. It was not uncommon for a physician to perform a "compassion hysterectomy" for a woman who was just worn out from having a child every year. (I know this from female relatives who begged their doctors to help them.) As you write, when women are allowed to control their own bodies, and make their own choices about reproduction, many "overpopulation" situations solve themselves.