Brennan, John J.

English

epublications@Marquette

The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 50 | Number 3 Article 228-1-1983[Book Review of ] History of the Biological Control ofHuman Fertility, by Jan Mucharski, O.F.M.Cap.John J. BrennanFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationBrennan, John J. (1983) "[Book Review of] History of the Biological Control of Human Fertility, by Jan Mucharski, O.F.M.Cap.," TheLinacre Quarterly: Vol. 50 : No. 3 , Article 22.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol50/iss3/22History of the Biological Control of Human Fertility Jan Mucharski, O.F.M.Cap. Fall HiveI' Modem Printing Co., 1981. Available through Married Life In/orma-{ion, 1 Manor Drive, Gall Ridge, N. J. 07438,- 146 pp., paper. This is t he most ambitious c hronology of the histm-y of natural family planning which has ever been written. A lifet im e of research is summarized at the end in 25 pages of se lected references . Our present knowledge of the subject is not due to anyone sudden insight, discovery m- inv ention , but rather to a myriad of myths or theOl·ies, some of which stood the test of scientific proof. Father Mucharski is a soc iologist and marriage counselor who studied for years in Warsaw and Paris before becoming an author him self. Under the pen name of Paul Thyma, he has written The Double-Ch eck Method of Family Planning. The book ,·eviewed here is really a logical and chronological ex planation of how Father Mucharski developed his double-check m ethod . Every culture in history had its own theories until Kyusaku Ogino, a Japanese gynecologist , gave his formula for determining fertility in women. His articles in 1923 were based upon microscopic study of corpora lutea. Hermann Knaus , an Austrian gynecologist, used a manometer to study uterine contractions while a balloon was inserted into the uterus. He developed a formula based upon the responsiveness of the myometrium to inj ected pituitary extract . To doctors sug-gesting sterilization as a m eans of preventing contraception, Knaus proposed abstinence during the time of possible conception. Leo Latz of Chicago published The Rhythm of Sterility and Fertility in Wom en in 1932. For the past 100 years, temperature curves have been related to m enstrual cycles. Father Mucharski says, " In 1945 the progesteronic thermal theory was so deve loped that it could be used as a basis for what came to be called the 'tempera-ture' or 'thermal' method of controlling human fertility" Many of our contemporaries are given recognition in this booklet. Very little is said about studies on sperm survival. There is scant info~mation on Dr . Eric Odeblad's monumental studies on cervical mucus. Th e names of very few women are included. Perhaps 99 percent of the research done on fertility of women has been done by men . This may change. This booklet belongs in the library of every teacher and every student of natural family planning. After completing the massive task of researching this subject, Father Mucharski may write a sequel on all that has been said concerning the " morality of the biologic control of fertility." Better yet, he might review his correspondence with all those interesting personalities who have devoted their energy to NFP and write less of a chronology and more of personal insight into their motivations and accomplishments. - John J. Brennan, M.D. 286 LinaCfe Quarterly 

[Book Review of] \u3cem\u3eHistory of the Biological Control of Human Fertility\u3c/em\u3e, by Jan Mucharski, O.F.M.Cap.

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3536&amp;context=lnq

[Book Review of] \u3cem\u3eHistory of the Biological Control of Human Fertility\u3c/em\u3e, by Jan Mucharski, O.F.M.Cap.

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