Proceedings of the 1979 Eugenics Society conference edited by D. F Roberts
and R. Chester
"Fertility is a subject of
importance to all sections of society. At the individual level there are
problems engendered both by fertility which is too high and by that which is
absent, too low, too early or too late. Similar problems arise, on a different
scale, at the community and the world level. At the 16th Annual Symposium of
the Eugenics Society in 1979 these questions were considered from widely
different view points to present an integrated picture of the fundamental
biological processes of conception and fertility. The edited texts of the
papers presented at the meeting are contained in this volume, which represents
the second book in a trilogy examining changing patterns of biological
variables in contemporary society.
The meeting dealt with four main
topics. The first, fertility in its demographic context, is illustrated by
discussions of two contrasting societies, those of Great Britain and Latin
America. The Eugenics Society’s Galton Lecture of 1979, given by Peter
Laslett, is included in this section. Next, the question of the prevention of
fertility is examined, and the risks inherent in the methods of contraception
used nowadays and those which will probably be used in the future are
assessed.
Thirdly, the improvement of the
quality of fertility is discussed in papers on recent advances in the causes
and treatment of involuntary childlessness, the reduction of the incidence of
several types of birth defect by early pre-natal diagnosis, and the effect of
drugs in pregnancy and lactation on the foetus and infant. The final section
is devoted to unexpected problems which have arisen as a result of these
changing patterns of fertility, namely, artificial insemination by donor,
teenage pregnancy, and the risks and problems of the older parent.
This volume gives the thinking
reader some indication of the variety of problems of fertility, while those
engaged professionally in family medicine will find the definitive discussions
in the latter half valuable reference reviews. Demographers, social scientists
and public health officials will also welcome this book." (From the
dust jacket of the book)
We regret that we no longer have any copies of this book available for sale. Second-hand copies
have been offered on the Internet for as little as £4.75 + shipping. The General Secretary may be able to provide photocopies of
individual chapters for 20p per page.
