male- dominant societies; and greater knowledge of the 

 sequence of events during the menstrual cycle and 

 consequent refinements in the rhythm method. Several 

 new contraceptive methods are in the research and 

 development stage. The technology for performing 

 abortions has also improved and this procedure is safer 

 than in the past. The development of national family 

 planning programs featuring one or more of these 

 methods in many countries is probably one of the major 

 social revolutions of the twentieth century. 



Despite these advances, existing methods have 

 drawbacks due to inconvenience of use or delivery, 

 medical complications, or lack of acceptability. 

 Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop 

 additional safe, effective, low-cost, convenient, and 

 acceptable methods of fertility control. Equally 

 important is the need to adapt and apply existing 

 technology to individual developing countries in more 

 appropriate ways, taking account of social, cultural, 

 moral, and physical factors. 



Rationale for Selecting this Topic 



Improved contraceptive technology is widely 

 recognized as a high priority need in both developing 

 and developed nations, and was so identified in the 

 World Population Plan of Action. More recently, the 

 reproductive sciences and contraceptive development 

 were systematically reviewed by more than 160 experts 

 from 26 nations, under the sponsorship of the Ford and 

 Rockefeller foundations and the International 

 Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC) (Greep et 

 al. 1976). This report called for a significant 

 increase in research in this field. 



Since the great diversity of the worlds cultures 

 and peoples and the changing needs of men and women 

 during the course of their reproductive lives more or 

 less guarantee that a single, ideal contraceptive 

 method will never be found, a variety of improved 

 methods with greater cultural and moral acceptability 

 are needed. Improved contraceptive methods could have 

 a large impact, both in terms of the ability of couples 

 to control family size and child spacing more 

 effectively, and in terms of demographic effects on 

 national fertility patterns. While the latter are 

 controlled by the complex interplay of a number of 

 social and economic forces, more acceptable methods of 

 fertility control that might be adopted by larger 

 proportions of couples for longer periods of time would 

 certainly influence fertility patterns and family size, 

 and could have a major impact worldwide. 



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