REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES
Though we are about to discuss advances made in the reproduction-aiding and reproduction-controlling technologies, we must remember that technology is not a substitute for the kind of appropriate reproductive practices that help ensure good reproductive health. It is unwise to rely on reproductive technology to correct problems that could be avoided with reasonable care and safe sexual practices. Our future reproductive health depends on our current reproductive behavior.
In this book, we try to provide in-depth coverage of the scientific, ethical, political, and legal issues that surround the technologies of reproduction. We cannot, however, be completely comprehensive in a work of this length. Nor can we be completely up-to-date. The ethics, politics, and law of reproduction are changing as rapidly as the science and technology of reproduction. New moral insights, political interpretations, and legal rulings about reproduction appear daily. What is considered morally good, politically correct, and legally advisable at the time a couple chooses to use a reproductive technology may be just the opposite by the time the woman delivers a baby.
Although we realize that many of our readers will be interested in how they themselves can use one or more of the currently available reproductive technologies, this book is not intended to be a "how-to" manual for either the reproduction-controlling or the reproduction-aiding methods. Many fine manuals that deal in some detail with contraception, abortion, and sterilization, as well as hormone treatment, in vitro fertilization, and embryo transfer are available.9 Since new developments are being announced almost weekly, those interested in using such modalities should consult widely with medically trained personnel so their decisions are based on the latest information. This week's scientific miracle may prove to be next week's health disaster.
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Womens Health
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ANTE-NATAL TESTS
Cervical smear Most cervical cancer can be prevented, which is why the majority of women will have a cervical smear test at the first ante-natal visit. It entails the insertion of a speculum into the vagina and an almost painless scraping of the surface of the cervix for a sample of cells which will be examined under a microscope in the laboratory. This test, looking for pre-cancerous cells, is widely advocated for all women pregnant or not, particularly if they're over thirty-five , have had more than one (male) sexual partner and if they have three or more children. There is no special reason for testing pregnant women and it is probably not an essential test, but if you are undergoing a vaginal examination anyway, there is virtue in having it done.
Chest x-ray If you have a history of chest illness you may be offered a chest x-ray to check for TB. Avoid it if you possibly can. X-rays are known to damage the foetus, particularly in the early months of pregnancy. A woman's body should be heavily screened during a chest x-ray to prevent the x-rays affecting the foetus, but despite the most careful precautions there is some evidence that some rays may still get through to the foetus.
Ultrasound A few hospital clinics like to perform an ultrasonic scan at this stage in order to confirm dates. Ultrasound - which uses high-frequency sound waves to form on a TV screen a picture of a foetus inside the womb - is now widely used in ante-natal care and is assumed to be safe even though this has never been verified. Since, theoretically at least, any possible effects of ultrasound are more likely to affect the foetus when it is tiny, it is perhaps particularly important that it should not be used unnecessarily at this stage. Women are anyway commonly well aware of the age of their pregnancy. In one survey, sociologist Ann Oakley found that over ninety per cent knew their dates exactly, and the rest knew to within a week.
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Women's Health
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