Infertility has been relatively neglected as both a health problem and a subject for social science research in South Asia, as in the developing world more generally. The general thrust of both programmes and research has been on the correlates of high fertility and its regulation rather than on

The two issues in the field of fertility that have received widest publicity in the recent times in India are the rapidly growing number of clinics that are performing amniocentesis, which is followed by female foeticide and the birth of a test-tube baby in Bombay.

There can be little doubt that the last two hundred years have seen advances in health which have seldom before been witnessed in human history.

Squinting against the glare of the harsh fluorescent lights, a balding, middle aged man wearing a checked shirt and a worried look sat at the edge of the plastic chair in the white-tiled corridor of Bombay's Jaslok Hospital, tapping his foot on the floor with increasing nervousness.

NORPLANT, an implant which when inserted in a woman's body prevents conception for five years if it is not removed, is to be introduced into the Indian family planning programme in selected centres. This has provoked much debate and not all are happy with this decision.