Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Infertility, abortion, and biotechnology

When it’s not nice to fool mother nature

  • Published:
Human Nature Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Patterns of reproductive failure described in humans and other mammals suggest that reproductive failure may in many instances be the result of adaptations evolved to suppress reproduction under temporarily harsh conditions. By suppressing reproduction under such conditions, females are able to conserve their time and energy for reproductive opportunities in which reproduction is most likely to succeed. Such adaptations have been particularly important for female mammals, given (a) the amount of time and energy that reproduction requires, and (b) the degree to which reproductive conditions can vary.

The existence of conscious and unconscious mechanisms to suppress reproduction under poor conditions has several implications for obstetric/gynecologic practices. Two implications are discussed with reference to biotechnological advancements in our ability to facilitate conceptions and manage problem pregnancies: (a) potential dangers of sophisticated technologies overriding natural fertility controls; and (b) the need for greater appreciation of the association between psychosocial stress and reproductive failure in the treatment of reproductive problems. Implications for elective abortion practices are discussed as well.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ayme, S., and A. Lippman-Hand 1982 Maternal-Age Effect in Aneuploidy: Does Altered Embryonic Selection Play a Role?American Journal of Human Genetics 34:558–565.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beer, A.E., J.F. Quebbeman, A.E. Semprini, P.E. Smouse, and R.F. Haines 1983 Recurrent Abortion: Analyses of Parental Sharing of Histocompatability Antigens and Maternal Immunological Responses to Paternal Antigens. InReproductive Immunology, S. Isojima and W.D. Billington, eds. Pp. 185–2120. New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beer, A.E., J.S. Quebbemann, Y. Hamazaki, and A.E. Sempini 1987 Pregnancy Outcome in Human Couples with Recurrent Spontaneous Abortions: The Role(s) of HLA Antigen Sharing, ABO Blood Group Antigen Profiles, Female Serum MLR Blocking Factors, Antisperm and Antibodies and Immunotherapy. InImmunoregulation and Fetal Survival, T.J. Gill III and T.G. Wegmann, eds. Pp. 286–292. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkowitz, G.S. 1986 Epidemiology of Infertility and Early Pregnancy Wastage. InReproductive Failure, A.H. DeCherney, ed. Pp. 17–40. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birth 1988 News.Birth 15(3):181–182.

  • Bongaarts, J. 1980 Does Malnutrition Affect Fecundity? A Summary of Evidence.Science 208:564–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bracken, M.B., and S.V. Kasl 1976 Psychosocial Correlates of Delayed Decisions to Abort.Health Education Monographs 4:6–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brambell, F.W.R. 1948 Prenatal Mortality in Mammals.Biological Review 23:370–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobliner, W.G. 1974 Pregnancy in the Single Adolescent Girl: The Role of Cognitive Functions.Journal of Youth and Adolscence 3:17–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, M.N., R.S. Malpas, and H.G. Klein, eds. 1980Biosocial Mechanisms of Population Regulation New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, J.A., W. Wrixon, L.B. Janes, and E.H. Wilson 1983 Treatment-Independent Pregnancy among Infertile Couples.New England Journal of Medicine 309(20):1201–1206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David, H., and R.L. Johnson 1977 Fertility Regulation in Child Bearing Years: Psychosocial and Psychoeconomic Aspects.Preventative Medicine 6:52–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar, R.I.M. 1980 Demographic and Life History Variables of a Population of Gelada Baboons (Theropithecus gelada).Journal of Animal Ecology 49:485–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar, R.I.M., and M. Sharman 1983 Female Competition for Access to Males Affects Birth Rate in Baboons.Behavior Ecology and Sociobiology 13:157–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R.A. 1980Birth and Fortune. New York: Basic Books

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkind, D. 1967 Egocentrism Adolescence.Child Development 4:1025–1034.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Follett, B.K. 1985 The Environment and Reproduction. In,Reproduction in Mammals, Book 4, C.R. Austin and R.V. Short, eds. Pp. 102–132. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frick, V., R. Lubke, K. Sommer, and A.E. Schindler 1978 Psychological Evaluation in Anorexia Nervosa and Anorectic Reaction.Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology of Reproduction 22:295–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisch, R. 1978 Nutrition, Fatness and Fertility: The Effect of Food Intake on Reproductive Ability. InNutrition and Human Reproduction, W.H. Mosley, ed. Pp. 91–122. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1982 Malnutrition and Fertility.Science 215:1272–1273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill, T.J. 1988 Immunologic and Genetic Factors Influencing Pregnancy. InThe Physiology of Reproduction, E. Knobil and J. Neil, eds. Pp. 2023–2042. New York: Raven Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golub, E.S. 1987Immunology: A Synthesis. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, M., and S. Jacobowitz 1981 Variations of Infant Mortality Rates among Counties of the United States: The Roles of Public Policies and Programs.Demography 18:695–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamburg, B.A. 1986 Subsets of adolescent mothers: Developmental, Biomedical and Psychosocial Issues. InSchool-Age Pregnancy and Parenthood: Biosocial Dimensions, J.B. Lancaster, and B.A. Hamburg eds. Pp. 115–145. Hawthorne, New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgen, G.D., and J. Itskovitz 1988 Recognition and Maintenance of Pregnancy. InThe Physiology of Reproduction, E. Knobil and J. Neil, eds. Pp. 1995–2021. New York: Raven Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • House, J.S., K.R. Landis, and D. Umberson 1988 Social Relationships and Health.Science 241:540–545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Istvan, J. 1986 Stress, Anxiety, and Birth Outcomes: A Critical Review of the Evidence.Psychological Bulletin 100:331–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jansen, R.P.S. 1982 Spontaneous Abortion Incidence in the Treatment of Infertility.American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 143:451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joyce, T 1987 The Impact of Induced Abortion on Black and White Birth Outcomes in the United States.Demography 24(2):229–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasarda, J.D., J.O.G. Billy, and K. West 1986Status Enhancement and Fertility: Reproductive Responses to Social Mobility and Educational Opportunity. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, S.S., S.H. Katz 1987 An Evaluation of Traditional Therapy for Barrenness.Medical Anthropology Quarterly 1:394–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lanman, J.T., S.G. Kohl, and J.H. Bedell 1974 Changes in Pregnancy Outcome after Liberalization of the New York State Abortion Law.American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 118:485.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasker, J.N., and S. Borg 1987In Search of Parenthood: Coping with Infertility and High-Tech Conception. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, R.B. 1979The !Kung San: Men, Women, and Work in a Foraging Society. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1980 Lactation, Ovulation, Infanticide, and Women’s Work: A Study of Hunter-Gatherer Population Regulation. InBiosocial Mechanisms of Population Regulation, M.N. Cohen, R.S. Malpas, and H.G. Klein, eds. Pp. 321–348. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Low, B.S. 1978 Environmental Uncertainty and the Parental Strategies of Marsupials and Placentals.American Naturalist 112:197–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mindick, B., S. Oskamp, and D.E. Berger 1977 Prediction of Success or Failure in Birth Planning: An Approach to Prevention of Individual and Family Stress.American Journal of Community Psychology 5:447–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishell, D.R., and V. Davajan, eds. 1986Infertility, Contraception and Reproductive Endocrinology, second ed. Oradell, New Jersey:Medical Economics Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mori, A. 1979 Analysis of Population Changes by Measurement of Body Weight in the Koshima Troop of Japanese Macaques.Primates 20:371–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morishima, H.O., H. Pedersen, and M. Finster 1978 The Influence of Maternal Psychological Stress on the Fetus.American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 131:286–290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) 1988Infertility: Medical and Social Choices. Washington D.C.: U.S. Congress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1980Health United States. PHS Publication No. 81.

  • Roberts, C.J., and C.R. Lowe 1975 Where Have All the Conceptions Gone?Lancet March 1, 498–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, S., and P.F. Brenner 1986 Puberty. InInfertility, Contraception and Reproductive Endocrinology, second ed., D.R. Mishell and V. Davajan, eds. Pp. 163–178. Oradell, New Jersey: Medical Economics Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadleier, R.M.F.S. 1969 The Role of Nutrition in the Reproduction of Wild Mammals.Journal of Reproduction and Fertility (Supplement 6):39–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sapolsky, R. 1987 Stress, Social Status, and Reproductive Physiology in Free-living Baboons. InPsychobiology of Reproductive Behavior: An Evolutionary Perspective, D. Crews, ed. Pp. 291–322. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schindler, A.E., I. Shier, V. Frick, F. Gundling, R. Goser, and E. Keller 1978 Psychogenic Amenorrhea: Endocrine Evaluation and Follow-Up.Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology of Reproduction 22:281–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schrimshaw, S.C.M. 1984 Infanticide in Human Populations: Social and Individual Concerns. InInfanticide: Comparative and Evolutionary Perspectives, G. Hausfater and S.B. Hrdy, eds. Pp. 439–462. Hawthorne, New York: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shearer, M.H. 1988 Some Effects of Assisted Reproduction on Perinatal Care.Birth 15(3):131–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepard, T.H. and A.G. Fantel 1979 Embryonic and Early Fetal Loss.Clinics in Perinatology 6:219–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, R.V. 1984 Breast Feeding.Scientific American 250(4):35–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 1985 Species Differences in Reproductive Mechanisms. InReproduction in Mammals, Book 4, C.R. Austin and R.V. Short, eds. Pp. 24–61. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, Z., and M. Susser 1975 Fertility, Fecundity, Famine: Food Rations in the Dutch Famine 1944/5 Have a Causal Relation to Fertility, and Probability to Fecundity.Human Biology 47:131–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, Z., M. Susser, G. Saenger, and F. Marolla 1975 Famine and Human Development. InThe Dutch Hunger Winter, Z. Stein, ed. Pp. 35–52. London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, Z., M. Susser, D. Warburton, J. Wittes, and J. Kline 1975 Spontaneous Abortion as a Screening Device: The Effect of Fetal Survival on the Incidence of Birth Defects.American Journal of Epidemiology 102:275–290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinhoff, P.G., R.G. Smith, and M. Diamond 1972 The Hawaii Pregnancy, Birth Control, and Abortion Study: Social-Psychological Aspects.Proceedings of the Conference on Psychological Measurement in the Study of Population Problems. Berkeley: University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stott, D.H. 1958 Some Psychosomatic Aspects of Causality in Reproduction.Journal of Psychosomatic Research 3:42–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sved, J.A., and L. Sandler 1981 Relation of Maternal Age Effect in Down’s Syndrome to Nondisjunction. InTrisomy 21 (Down Syndrome): Research Prospectives, F.F. De la Cruz and P.S. Gerald, eds. Pp. 95–98. Baltimore: University Park Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swigar, M.E., D.M. Quinlan, and S.D. Wexler 1977 Abortion Applicants: Characteristics Distinguishing Dropouts Remaining Pregnant and Those Having Abortions.American Journal of Public Health 67:142–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trounson, A., and C. Wood, eds. 1984In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uvnäs-Moberg, K. 1989 The Gastrointestinal Tract in Growth and Reproduction.Scientific American July:78–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Schaik, C.P. 1983 Why Are Diurnal Primates Living in Groups?Behaviour 87:120–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Schaik, C.P., and M.A. van Noordwijk 1985 Interannual Variability in Fruit Abundance and the Reproductive Seasonality of Sumatran Long-tailed Macaques.Journal of Zoology (London) 206:533–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagley, C. 1977Welcome of Tears: The Tapirape Indians of Central Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasser, S.K., and D.P. Barash 1983 Reproductive Suppression among Female Mammals: Implication for Biomedicine and Sexual Selection Theory.Quarterly Review of Biology 58:513–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wasser, S.K., and D.Y. Isenberg 1986 Reproductive Suppression: Pathology or Adaptation.Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology 5:153–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasser, S.K., and A.K. Starling 1988 Proximate and Ultimate Causation of Reproductive Supression among Female Yellow Baboons at Mikumi National Park, Tanzania.American Journal of Primatology 16:97–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, G.C. 1966 Natural Selection, the Costs of Reproduction, and a Refinement of Lack’s Principle.American Naturalist 100:687–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wingfield, J.C. 1988 Changes in Reproductive Function of Free-living Birds in Direct Response to Environmental Perturbations. InProcessing of Environmental Information in Vertebrates, M.H. Stetson, ed. Pp. 121–148. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wingfield, J.C., J.P. Smith, and D.S. Farner 1982 Endocrine Responses of White Crowned Sparrows to Environmental Stress.Condor 84:399–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wildt, D.E., M. Bush, K.L. Goodrowe, C. Packer, A.E. Pusey, J.L. Brown, P. Joslin, and S.J. O’Brien 1987 Reproductive and Genetic Consequences of Founding Isolated Lion Populations.Nature 329(6137):328–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, J.W., and P.E. Smouse 1982 A Method of Analyzing Density-Dependent Vital Rates with an Application to the Gainj of Papua, New Guinea.American Journal of Physical Anthropology 58:403–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yen, S.S.C. 1986 Chronic Anovulation due to CNS-Hypothalamic Pituitary Dysfunction. InReproductive Endocrinology, S.S.C. Yen and R.B. Jaffee, eds. Pp. 441–499. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Endocrine Research Laboratory, Smithsonian Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, 22630, Front Royal, VA

    Samuel K. Wasser

Authors
  1. Samuel K. Wasser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

The ideas for this paper were developed while the author was a recipient of a Career Development Award from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.

Dr. Wasser received a B.S. degree of Zoology from Michigan State University in 1975, a Masters of Science in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1976, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Washington in 1981. He is co-director of the Animal Behavior Research Unit, a long-term study on the behavioral ecology and reproduction of free-ranging yellow baboons at Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. Dr. Wasser’s primary research focus is on the evolution of reproductive strategies in female mammals. His work includes research on human infertility and abortion. He is also working on the breeding of endangered species in captivity under a Research Development Award from the National Zoological Park of the Smithsonian Institution.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wasser, S.K. Infertility, abortion, and biotechnology. Human Nature 1, 3–24 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02692144

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02692144

Key words

Search

Navigation