Human Reproduction: Sex, Science and Society

Are you trying to conceive? Do you want to prevent conception (contraception)? Would you like to know more about your fertility?

Have you considered how social factors influence the choices we make about sex and reproduction? What about the latest technological developments in assisted conception (otherwise known as IVF)? Join world leader in human reproduction, Laureate Professor John Aitken, as we explore the biological, technological, and social factors that influence human reproduction.

In this course you will learn how sperm and eggs are made; the events that result in fertilisation and conception; and how a healthy baby develops and is born.

These biological principles will be studied alongside social factors such as the construct of family, education, poverty, and sexuality.

This course will also examine the enormous role of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) such as IVF in modern society.

• Discuss both male and female reproductive development in humans
• Describe the processes of fertilisation, conception and pregnancy in humans
• Define relevant factors limiting human fertility, and how these can be overcome
• Discuss the ethical issues and standards around ARTs
• Articulate how access to contraception impacts upon our social, political, and clinical wellbeing
• Describe issues related to sex and sexualities in Western societies

Week 1: Gametes, Fertilization & Conception

• Sex hormones & reproductive systems
• Eggs & sperm
• Fertilisation & implantation
• Obstacles to conception
• Social policy and fertility rates: global trends in fertility
• Projection of Australia’s population
• Policy options to decrease or increase fertility
• Historical changes in fertility rates

Week 2: Pregnancy, Placenta & Birth

• Placentation
• Fetal development/maternal adaptation to pregnancy/ Labour
• Pregnancy and complications
• Developmental origins of health & disease
• Sociological approaches to the intergenerational cycle of disease
• Social aspects of pregnancy and childbirth

Week 3: Contraception

• The history and importance of contraception
• Methods of Contraception
• Effectiveness and Health Risks
• New technologies in male contraception
• Contraceptive use in Australia

Week 4: Sex & Sexuality: Social Constructionism & Biology

• Biological sexual differentiation
• The social construction of sex and sexuality
• Psychiatry and homosexuality

Week 5: Infertility & Assisted Reproduction

• Infertility
• Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs)
• ARTs: now and the future
• Ethics of ARTs
• Surrogacy case study