2.4 Artificial control of Fertility

Human fertility is controlled by hormones. This means that knowledge of hormones can be used to decide to increase, or reduce, the chances of fertilisation and pregnancy.

The pill, greatly reduces the chances of mature eggs being produced. It contains oestrogen or progesterone (another hormone). These hormones inhibit the production of FSH, which in turn stops eggs maturing in the ovaries.

Ads: Couples can choose when the start and stop having children.           Disads : Original pills had high levels of Oestrogen, causing side effects (changes in wieght, mood, blood pressure).

IUD (Interuterine Device) / Coil, sits inside uetrus and stops fertilised eggs fromimplanting.

Ads: Doesn't distrupt hormone cycle.     Disads: Ethical views, IUD's are killing already fertilised eggs.

Fertility treatments

Some women have difficulty becoming pregnant because they don't produce enough FSH to allow their eggs to mature. Fertility drugs contain FSH and LH, which stimulate eggs to mature in the ovary.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF)                      

This is where the egg is fertilised outside the woman’s body and then implanted back into her uterus. As FSH can also be used to encourage the production of several mature eggs at once, it is used as part of IVF to increase the number of eggs available for fertilisation.

Some people worry about the ethical implications of IVF. They are concerned that couples may want 'designer babies' with 'desirable' qualities, so may only want certain fertilised eggs. For example, they may want a girl if they have lots of boys in the family, or they may wish to avoid producing a baby with an inherited defect.