Genetic and environmental factors in human ability : a symposium held by the Eugenics Society in September-October 1965 / edited by J.E. Meade, A.S. Parkes.

Date:
[1966]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: Genetic and environmental factors in human ability : a symposium held by the Eugenics Society in September-October 1965 / edited by J.E. Meade, A.S. Parkes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    106 FACTORS IN HUMAN ABILITY tragedy and be clear evidence, in that child, of pregnancy or perinatal damage lowering his mental ability below his genetic entitlement. I would suggest that, just as we accept a genetically deter¬ mined range of ability of all types, so we should accept a wide range of degrees of subnormality, secondary to damage as applicable to the individual child in relation to his own environment and estimated scoring. There is also the problem in my mind to-day as to how, when searching for pregnancy sequelae, we should correlate children who are physically defective with those who are mentally retarded, or with those who have behavioural or psychotic problems, and with those who have minor damage say to teeth, hearing, eye muscles, or difficulties in interpreta¬ tion of the printed word. There is a whole range of anomaly, much of which is only now being explored. As obstetricians, we must be concerned with all aspects of human reproduction. We wish, as you do, to know the truly genetic components of our problems, in order that we may give the necessary counsel to the parents. We wish to understand the social and environmental components, so that we may attempt in our care programmes to combat deficiencies which are part of these components. We must identify the truly obstetric or pregnancy components so that we may prevent damage or minimize its effects. We must foresee the special risks to the neonate so that we can warn our paediatric col¬ leagues and make their task easier. RISK PREGNANCY ] It is seldom realized, except by those directly concerned, that the human, in reproduction, frequently deviates from those physiological standards accepted as normal. In a recent study of ' babies at risk ' in our own city we found (Table 1), using relatively limited criteria, that some 65*2 per cent of all babies born had faced at least one measurable hazard during preg¬ nancy, labour or early neonatal life and that very many had faced several. We cannot then regard ' a risk ' situation as unusual. This has been clearly recognized by wise writers
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