Midwife and Public Health Nurse Tatsuyo Amari and a State-Endorsed Birth Control Campaign in 1950s Japan.

Mrs. Tatsuyo Amari, a qualified midwife and nurse, served Japan's state-endorsed birth control campaign as a "birth control field instructor" in rural Minamoto Village of Yamanashi Prefecture just west of Tokyo. Her work sheds light on the role of female health-care workers in health and population governance in 1950s Japan. Amari not only facilitated the "top-down" transfer of the state-sanctioned idea of birth control and contraceptives, as did other birth control field instructors, but also enabled the "bottom-up" flow of knowledge about people's reproductive lives through her participation in the policy-oriented birth control research called the "three model-village study." Contextualizing Amari's engagement with the study elucidates how the state relied on the established role of female health-care workers as intermediaries between the state and the people. Finally, Amari's contribution to the scientific aspect of the campaign may motivate historians to recognize the politics around the participation of female health-care workers in the science of birth control.

Al-Akhawayni, a contributor to medieval Persian knowledge on contraception.

Modern scientific achievements in the field of contraception are clearly indebted to past studies. Al-Akhawayni Bukhari was a Persian physician in the 10th century. He lived during the 'Golden Age of Islamic Medicine' (9th to 12th century AD). This scientist recorded his knowledge on various medical matters, including contraception, in the book 'Hidayat al-Muta`allemin Fi al-Tibb' (Learner's Guide to Medicine). These 10th century views on contraception are explored in this paper through a discussion of Al-Akhawayni Bukhari's surviving book, the 'Hidayat' (Guide).

Childbirth in ancient Rome: from traditional folklore to obstetrics.

In ancient Rome, childbirth was a hazardous event for both mother and child with high rates of infant and maternal mortality. Traditional Roman medicine centred on folklore and religious practices, but with the development of Hippocratic medicine came significant advances in the care of women during pregnancy and confinement. Midwives or obstetrices played an important role and applied rational scientific practices to improve outcomes. This evolution from folklore to obstetrics was a pivotal point in the history of childbirth.

[Contraception in early 20th century China].

Modern contraception began early this century. In 1922, Mrs. Sanger of America came to China. Her theories of contraception and methods became the classical basis cited by Chinese workers on contraception. The Modern Women published since 1922 was the first professional publication in China, carrying many articles written by Chinese scholars. Monographs and translation of foreign works were also published. An institute for contraception was also founded in 1930. The Chinese Medical Association officially recognized contraceptive work as one of the public health works, marking the contraception, once lead by sociologists, under the category of the professional medical works.

Family planning: cultural and religious perspectives.

The world population explosion has caused political leaders to look upon national and regional birth control projects as vital. Support for regulation of individual fertility has been evident in all cultures, and at all times, even in those societies in which social and religious rules have favoured the abundant production of children. As the secularization of Western society and scientific enquiry gained momentum during the modern period, knowledge of reproduction increased and was applied to control human population growth. The various methods of contraception and their development through the years from the ancient ideas to the modern era are presented. Each approach to fertility control has its advantages and disadvantages. No one method is perfect for everyone, for every clinical setting, and in every culture. Higher levels of fertility have been associated with 'traditional', religious prohibitions on some forms of birth control, 'traditional' values about the importance of children and the priority of family, and 'traditional' family and gender roles reinforced by religion. The attitude of the main religious groups to contraceptive practice is discussed.

PIP: Discussion of cultural and religious perspectives on family planning was traced from ancient times to the present. The roles of the main religious groups: Jewish, Roman Catholic, Prostestant, Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist and the roles today of religion were covered. Traditional methods are indicated for females, males, and both, with additional focus on those methods most used today. There has always been support for regulation of individual fertility regardless of whether the religious rules favored many children. In ancient times, population growth was slow due to poor harvest, famine, war, poor nutrition, epidemics; and natural causes. Modern preventive medicines and modernization have had a positive effect on population growth. The current growth rate is .7% or 170 persons/minute. Since the world fertility surveys of the 1970s, there has been strong support for fertility control in almost all societies, but a gap still exists between desire and practice. In ancient times, withdrawal or anti conception rites were used; there was also evidence of quasi-scientific techniques such as female seed pod condoms or root tampons. The Greeks articulated and wrote about population control, including methods; abortion and infanticide were accepted. Both Aristotle and the ancient Egyptians recommended covering the cervix and vagina with Cedar oil. In the Medieval period, Arabic sources suggested prolonged nursing as an anti conception technique. During this period, St. Augustine promulgated for Christians the notion that contraception was sinful; abortion and homicide were equated. In the early modern period, the condom gained popularity, particularly for disease prevention. Knowledge of reproductive physiology advanced the possibilities for contraception. The occlusive pessary, which was based on ancient Egyptian devices, was developed and is still used today as the cervical cap. Experimentation was conducted with cervical rings at the turn of the century; oral contraceptive empirical research was conducted during the 1930s, but was not applied for another 30 years. There has been a convergence in birth patterns in modern times for the main religions in low fertility countries, but there have been differences in form of contraception used. Religious expression and values continue to influence the family, but education is an important means of achieving effective contraceptive use.

[Contraception--with us and others]. / Antikonception--hos oss och andra.

PIP: The history of contraception practices back to the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Romans, and Greeks, the evolution of condom use, and the problems inherent in religious and secular attitudes concerning contraception are surveyed. Ancient Egyptians already made use of certain intravaginal pessary and tampon types in combination with douches and incense to prevent pregnancy. Passages in the Bible refer to the practice of "coitus interruptus" as a preventive method, and the Greeks and Romans used sponges immersed in copper salt solution, oil of cedar, and olive oil. Abortion was officially banned in Rome; however, it was still practiced among the upper classes. Various practices used by the Arabs, Africans, and Europeans in the Middle Ages included the utilization of various oils and salts, plant roots, beeswax slices, green soap, and abstinence. The earliest mention of condom use is by Fallopius in the 16th Century; this linen sheath was primarily used against syphilis, as was its more advanced version described by Daniel Turner around 1700. Marquis de Sade recommended its use in combination with an intravaginal sponge. The invention of vulcanized rubber in the 19th Cenury led to its widespread use around the world, and the present threat of AIDS has made its advantages obvious. Secular attitudes about contraception emphasize the impact of urbanization and industrialization and their corrosive effects on the masses caught up in them without the benefit of contraception. Religious views, however, oppose contraception because of the fiats of Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian teachings. The individual's dilemma of trying to reconcile these conflicting attitudes is further explored.^ieng