Dynamics of Human Reproduction: Biology, Biometry, Demography

This long-awaited book presents a comprehensive, integrated, and up-to-date overview of the major physiological and behavioral factors affecting human reproduction. In attempting to identify the most important causes of variation in fertility within and among human populations, Dr. Wood summarizes data from a wide range of societies. Trained as an anthropologist as well as a demographer, he devotes special attention to so-called "natural fertility" populations, in which modern contraceptives and induced abortion are not used to limit reproductive output. Such an emphasis enables him to study the interaction of biology and behavior with particular clarity.
Topics covered include ovarian function, conception and pregnancy, intrauterine mortality, reproductive maturation and senescence, coital frequency and the waiting time to conception, marriage patterns and the initiation of reproduction, the fertility-reducing effects of breastfeeding, the impact of maternal nutrition on reproduction, and reproductive seasonality. To integrate this wide range of topics, Dynamics of Human Reproduction develops a single, coherent analytical framework, structured in terms of birth interval components and the timing of reproductive events. This unique combination of comprehensive subject matter and an integrated analytical approach makes the book ideally suited both as a graduate-level textbook and as a reference work.

James W. Wood is Professor, Department of Anthropology, and Senior Scientist, Population Research Institute, at the Pennsylvania State University.