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This report gives the preliminary results of a pretest cosponsored by the International Fertility Research Program and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. It includes data on 33 116 deliveries in 20 maternity centers in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The findings are organized around four themes: (a) family formation and reproductive history, (b) family health, (c) management of this delivery and (d) desired family size and family planning practices.

The world's rate of population growth is declining. Most industrialized societies have achieved or are moving rapidly toward stationary populations, but while birth rates are also declining in many developing countries, continued growth must be expected because of the large proportions of young people in these populations. New evidence of exceptions to the classical demographic transition theory indicate that declining fertility is compatible with high mortality or low socioeconomic development if acceptable means of fertility control are readily available. "Fertility silhouettes" showing differing age-specific fertility rates indicate that present family planning programs have had a demographic impact. A review of the economic and ecologic consequences of rapid population growth justifies the conclusion that considerable effort will be required to again bring the world's population into balance with these systems. The author outlines priorities for this effort, with emphasis on the need to devise acceptable means of fertility control that will not tax the frail health care infrastructures of developing countries.

In the Howrah District in India, three clinics--one in each of the urban, slum, and rural areas of the city--were initiated by the Humanity Association of Howrah in November of 1968 to supply oral contraceptives (OCs) to women from 15 to 45 years of age. The project was discontinued in September, 1972. Of the 1700 patients still active when the project ended, 1527 were contacted for the follow-up survey. Findings indicate that most women in this district were satisfied with OCs and would continue to use them if they were available. In corroboration of this, it was found that 43% of the women had used OC'S obtained from other sources after the project was discontinued. While 35.5% of the women who used no contraceptive method after project ended reported becoming pregnant or suspected that they were pregnant at the time of the interview, only 4.2% of those who reported using some form of contraception reported pregnancy or suspected pregnancy. The demographic impact of the project will be evaluated on the basis of data to be obtained in a subsequent survey of the same communities.

This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of an exogenous estrogen-progesterone preparation for inducing "withdrawal bleeding" in non-pregnant women, a procedure used in some areas for the diagnosis of early pregnancy. Three hundred patients not desiring to be pregnant and with no signs of pregnancy other than menses delayed by 14 days or less were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. The treatment group received an intramuscular injection of 50 mg progesterone and 3 mg oestradiol benzoate in oil. The control group received no hormonal injection. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the incidence of uterine bleeding within 7 days. Thus, the hormonal preparation was ineffective in inducing "withdrawal bleeding". Its use as a diagnostic test for pregnancy is not recommended.