The Intriguing Phenomenon of Gametopathy and its Disastrous Effects on the Human Progeny

Relationship between congenital anomalies and contraception

“…Jongbloet strongly accepts the concept of delayed fertilization having made a series of circumstantial observations [104][105][106][107][108]. In one study [107], he ascertained 127 couples who had mentally retarded children, and inquired about the circumstances in which the children were conceived.…”

The ageing gamete in relation to birth control failures and Down syndrome

“…In a retrospective study in which mentally retarded offspring were compared with their siblings, the proportion of fetal loss and disturbed progeny was definitely increased when the parents applying the "rhythm method" of contraception had used exclusively the post-midcycle, the allegedly "safe" period. In contrast, the number of abnormal progeny was low in the case of voluntary or planned pregnancies or of failures by extending the preovulatory "safe" period to the tenth day of the cycle (a time now recognised by all authorities as that with the greatest number of failures but where post-midcycle conceptions should not be feared [16,18]. It is evident that use of calendar rhythm--either for birth control and particularly as a birth spacing method--implies abstinence during the midcycle and possible post-midcycle conceptions due to delayed ovulation.…”

“…During the latter, less hampering of the egg maturation may be expected [21]. These results are independent of the country of origin, the secular Fetal loss [15], intra-uterine growth retardation [37] and mental retardation [16,19] have been shown to be related to delayed ovulation (or post-midcycle conceptions). In a retrospective study in which mentally retarded offspring were compared with their siblings, the proportion of fetal loss and disturbed progeny was definitely increased when the parents applying the "rhythm method" of contraception had used exclusively the post-midcycle, the allegedly "safe" period.…”

Natural family planning

“…Jongbloet [39] in a retrospective study of 35 couples using the 'rhythm' method suggests the association. Animal studies clearly document such an association and some fears have been expressed that this may also be true for humans.…”