830 



women, with chances for success in the former case of 50-80 percent, 

 and in the latter of 52-66 percent.^"® However, given the psychological 

 comfort of knowing that it can be done, few individuals of either sex 

 are likely to request restoration of their fertility. 



To take India as an example again, nearly 7.5 million people there 

 have been sterilized since 1966. Vasectomies have been done on an 

 assembly-line basis, in places such as the Bombay railway station. The 

 Indian government offers a small payment to the individual under- 

 going a vasectomy. 



COXVENTIONAL METHODS 



Although the pill, the lUD, and vasectomy have all gained promi- 

 nence as technical means of effecting birth control, the so-called con- 

 A'entional methods which have been known for a longer period are 

 still widely used. Some of these methods are relatively effective in pre- 

 venting conception, others are less so. By and large they are not viewed 

 as acceptably reliable solutions to the problem of population control 

 in the LDCs. It seems likely that they will give way eventually to 

 other methods yet to be discovered. 



These conventional methods comprise the condom, the diaphragm, 

 the cervical cap. various creams and jellies, the douche, the rhythm 

 method, and others. The condom, or sheath, is widely known and 

 j'xtensively used in the developed countries; when properly used, 

 its failure rate is comparatively low. Among the developing coun- 

 ti-ies, India has a state factory with the capacity to turn out 144 

 million condoms annually, but whether this method, which to many 

 (•f)nnotPS prostitution and adultery, will find ready acceptance in 

 the LDCs may be problematical. The diaphragm, which has to be 

 picscribed and fitted by a doctor, seems impractical for mass use by 

 the women of the LDCs. The same objection can be made to the 

 cervical caj). Spermicidal jellies and foams are easier to apply, but 

 piobably are less effective than the condom or the diaphragm. The 

 rhythm method, which has the sanction of the Catholic Church, in- 

 \'olves abstention on those days when conception should be possible. 

 But tliis period is sometimes so difficult to determine, })articularly if the 

 woman lias an iriegular n)enstrua] cycle, that it may require absten- 

 tion for a good })art of the month. Accordingly, the rhythm method is 

 relatively ineffective, and it may strain conjugal relationships. Also, it 

 seems ill-adapted to the needs of the developing countries. 



XEW LINES OF SCIENTiriC RESEARCH 



Prompted by the widespread concern over the population explo- 

 sion and the success of the Pill, a substantial scientific effort is under- 

 way to develop birth control techniques with fewer disadvantages and 

 greater acceptability. The prime need for additional measures is in 

 the developing countries, but the effort is being carried on in the de- 

 veloped countries, chiefly the United States. 



Reseaich is going forw^ard on the so-called "micro-dose" pill, which 

 would be taken every day, continuously, regardless of a woman's cycle. 

 Since the dose is so tiny, it may be that such a pill would be safer than 



'"• Elirllch ami Ehrllch. "Population, Resources, and Environment," op. clt., page 220- 



