In order to evaluate the mental health aspects of voluntary sterilization for family planning purposes, WHO initiated in 1978 a multi-centre prospective controlled study. A total of 926 healthy women with at least two living children, who requested sterilization (interval, post-partum or post-abortion), and 924 controls using other methods of contraception, were selected for a prospective investigation which included pre-operative and post-operative (6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year) standardized assessment of mental state and a range of variables related to physical health and psychosexual functioning. Although pre-operatively a high proportion of subjects in both index and control groups reported minor non-specific psychiatric symptoms the percentage of women meeting defined criteria of psychiatric disorder was low to moderate (less than 15%) in all centres except Cali (26%). In all centres the pre-operative rates of psychiatric disorder were somewhat higher in the sterilization groups than in the control groups, and in two centres (Cali and Chandigarh) this difference was statistically significant. Thus, the data indicate that women choosing sterilization for birth control tend to show pre-operatively more psychiatric disturbance than their control counterparts who opt for other methods of contraception.

Seven hundred and ninety six Thai women who stopped using the long-acting injectable contraceptive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA, Depo Provera), 437 women who stopped using oral contraceptives and 125 women who had an IUD removed to have a planned pregnancy, were followed up to ascertain the delay to conception after the end of contraception and to determine the proportion of women who did not conceive in the 4 years after discontinuation. The median delay to conception was 5·5 months plus the estimated duration of the effect of the last injection of DMPA, 3 months for oral contraceptives and 4·5 months after discontinuing the IUD. The proportion of women who did not conceive within 9 months after discontinuation of DMPA is similar to that of ex-IUD users, and by 3 years to that of the ex-pill sample. There is no evidence to suggest that prolonged use of DMPA increases the delay to conception, and the return of fertility among never pregnant ex-users resembled that of ever pregnant ex-users.

There were comparable proportions of live births among ex-DMPA users and ex-pill users and both of these showed higher proportions of live-births than ex-IUD users. There was no evidence to suggest that previous use of DMPA had any significant adverse effect on the outcome of pregnancy of the subsequent births. This study did not show any association between infertility and the previous use of DMPA or other contraceptives.

The present study of 329 Australian and 281 Papua New Guinean (PNG) high school youth compared students' perceptions of the economic role of children, the importance of personal aspirations, evidence of support for the conjugal family and for cultural props. As predicted, the economic role of children was more important to PNG students, and considerably less so to young Australians. Predicted differences in personal aspirations were less clear cut, but young Australians cited more frequently the restrictions and economic costs in having children. In addition, Australians emphasized more than PNG students the pleasure, pride, fulfilment and achievement in having children. As expected in a low fertility country, Australian students mentioned more often the love and companionship of children, although students in both countries had similar views about the impact of children upon the marital relationship. Lineage and religious benefits from children were more salient to PNG youth.

The changing pattern of fertility differences among ethnic groups in Canada during the period 1926–71 is studied. Two specific questions are addressed. (1) Do ethnic groups assimilate the fertility patterns of the general Canadian population over time, i.e. are the fertility differences disappearing? (2) Is the extent of assimilation in fertility greater in urban than in rural areas? The indirectly standardized general fertility rates, calculated by using the ethnic age distribution data from the censuses of 1931 to 1971, indicate a tendency for the population to become more homogeneous during times of increasing fertility, thus supporting the assimilative possibilities, whereas in times of declining fertility there is a tendency for the population to become more heterogeneous. The data also seem to support weaker assimilatory tendencies in rural areas than in urban areas during only the most recent period, 1966–71, and not in earlier periods.

Data on fertility in a white Australian population based upon the vital records of the nineteenth century for two districts in Tasmania are presented. Mean family size was apparently low (3·2) and reproductive period short. However, when allowance was made for the truncation of birth records of migrant families, family size increased (4·9) markedly. Social class is shown to have a consistent effect on fertility levels in the larger community with low fertility associated with inferior economic status. Owing to the paucity of information contained within the vital records, it was impossible to investigate either age structure or migration effects on fertility. There is also evidence to suggest inbreeding is associated with higher, not lower, fertility.

The impact of sources of information about breast-feeding used by Japanese and American primiparous women during pregnancy is examined in relation to subsequent maternal behaviour and success in breast-feeding infants during the 1st week, 1st month, and 3rd month after birth. Culture differences were found in the sources of information used. Japanese mothers used more sources reflecting a formal, impersonal, group-oriented ‘learning context’, while American mothers used a greater variety of sources, reflecting both an informal, private, personalized approach and a formal approach. Hospital classes taught by nurses were significantly negatively correlated with success in breast-feeding in both cultures (r = −0.78, P < 0·01). Private consultations with health professionals and reading materials (books, magazines, pamphlets) were found to have little or no correlation with success in breast-feeding. The findings indicate that present sources of information on breast-feeding are not achieving the desired result—assisting women in learning to breast-feed their infants successfully. Sources of information need to be re-evaluated in terms of content, tenor, and the culture learning context in which information is being disseminated.

To determine patterns of infant feeding and influencing factors, 131 women, interested in breast-feeding and giving birth in one hospital in British Columbia, Canada, were followed for 6 months post-partum. Data were collected from hospital records and each participant completed mail-in questionnaires when their babies were 1, 3 and 6 months old. At 6 months 3·9% were exclusively breast-feeding, 26·5% were feeding their infants breast-milk and semi-solids and 26·5% were combining breast-feeding with formula and/or semi-solids. Over 50% discontinued breast-feeding before their stated intentions. Most women had chosen to breast-feed because of benefits to the baby, and most gave up breastfeeding because of perceived insufficient milk.

This article reports on women admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for incomplete, illegally induced abortion. Women with low complication rates more often had abortions induced by medical practitioners. These women were younger, of lower parity and better educated than women having abortions initiated by other practitioners. Poorly educated women from slum areas almost always had an abortion induced by a non-medical practitioner through the insertion of a solid object. These women experienced high complication rates and often required hysterectomies. This group also had high mortality rates. The drain on hospital resources needed to treat these abortion patients was great.

A sample of 35 South African Negro albinos and a normally pigmented matched control group have been studied for adjustment problems and attitudes towards this inherited condition. The results showed that although the albinos appeared to be as well adjusted as the controls, significantly more of the albino group had adjustment problems of a physical nature indicated by psychosomatic symptoms. Attitudes were found to be reasonably positive. One common local misconception was revealed: that albinos do not die but disappear or ‘vanish away’. There was very little understanding of the cause, mode of inheritance or the problems associated with albinism. It is concluded that relevant genetic counselling should be offered to the Negro albinos to enable them to understand their condition, its implications and the myths which surround it. Because albinism is so common in South Africa the education of the community in this connection is also desirable.

This paper examines the similarity between husbands and wives at the IQ subtest level, using seven tests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. There was some evidence for sex differences; husbands scored higher than their wives on three of the subtests. After logarithmic transformation of some subtests the data were shown to be consistent with multivariate normality. A simplified covariance matrix was produced. Principal component analysis revealed an underlying general ability factor but there was no simple division into verbal and into performance components as would be expected from the IQ test structure. Canonical correlation analysis indicated that there were highly variable contributions to spousal associations. The major contributors were, in decreasing order of importance, due to similarities, vocabulary, digit symbol and block design tests. One subtest, comprehension, made no overt contribution.

Using follow-up data on a sample of mothers who gave birth at a Lucknow city hospital, the family size ideals of the women were examined in relation to experienced and perceived levels of child mortality and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.

The fear of child mortality and their own experience tended to increase the size of family which the mothers considered to be ideal. Lower ideal family size was found among younger women, those who married at later ages and those currently using contraception. Family size preferences were also influenced by rural/urban background, religion, caste, type of family, education, income and occupation of husband and type of housing.

One thousand Blacks and 1001 Whites from the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba were studied in relation to migration patterns, ABO and Rh blood groups, and haemoglobin types. Despite a lower socioeconomic level, Blacks migrated more than Whites. Carriers of abnormal haemoglobin types show about the same degree of mobility as those with normal haemoglobin only. As much as half of the genes present among the Blacks of this city may be of European origin, while persons classified as White may have from 3 to 19% of African ancestry.

The study compares the 3 years of birth control practice of 1172 women who underwent early menstrual regulation (MR) and 499 others who accepted contraceptives only (nonMR) from an urban clinic in Bangladesh. About 60% of the women in the sample were followed-up, and their all-method continuation rate was analysed by life table technique. The 3-year overall continuation rate in the MR group (64%) did not differ from that of the nonMR group (62%). In the age groups 25 and over, the continuation rate was higher in the MR group. Among the women who did not desire any more children, the continuation rate in the MR group was significantly higher than that of the nonMR group (80% versus 68%, P< 0·05). Of women with parity greater than two, the MR group had significantly higher continuation rates than the nonMR group. The MR group had higher extended use-effectiveness for IUDs, conventional contraceptives (condom and foam), injectables, and oral contraceptives than the nonMR group. These findings indicated effective contraceptive practice following MR for this urban population. Easy availability of a multimethod service after MR seemed to be important in promoting effective contraception.

Foss (1982) writes:… ‘Guerrero (1974) in a large series showed no relationship of the child's sex to the cycle day of insemination…’. It seems to me that this is ambiguous. If the first day of menstrual bleeding is taken as the time origin, then Foss is correct. But if the biologically more relevant estimated day of ovulation is taken as the time origin, he is not. Using the latter time origin, Guerrero found that for natural inseminations the variance of cycle day of male conceptions was significantly greater than that of female conceptions. In other words, boys are more likely to be conceived at the beginning and end of the fertile period, and girls in the middle. Harlap (1979) has reported findings which seem to confirm those of Guerrero. It has been suggested (James, 1980a, b) that these and other findings would be explained if maternal gonadotrophin levels at the time of conception partially controlled the sex of the zygote.