Welcomed as liberation and dismissed as exploitation, egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation) has rapidly become one of the most widely-discussed and influential new reproductive technologies of this century. In Freezing Fertility, Lucy van de Wiel takes us inside the world of fertility preservation—with its egg freezing parties, contested age limits, proactive anticipations and equity investments—and shows how the popularization of egg freezing has profound consequences for the way in which female fertility and reproductive aging are understood, commercialized and politicized. Beyond an individual reproductive choice for people who may want to have children later in life, Freezing Fertility explores how the rise of egg freezing also reveals broader cultural, political and economic negotiations about reproductive politics, gender inequities, age normativities and the financialization of healthcare. Van de Wiel investigates these issues by analyzing a wide range of sources—varying from sparkly online platforms to heart-breaking court cases and intimate autobiographical accounts—that are emblematic of each stage of the egg freezing procedure. By following the egg’s journey, Freezing Fertility examines how contemporary egg freezing practices both reflect broader social, regulatory and economic power asymmetries and repoliticize fertility and aging in ways that affect the public at large. In doing so, the book explores how the possibility of egg freezing shifts our relation to the beginning and end of life.

This book is based on the RCOG Study Group findings on reproductive ageing.

When Reproduction meets Ageing questions the nature of reproductive ageing and reproductive biomedicine.

Due to the unusually long post-reproductive lifespan characteristic of human females, primate reproductive aging receives a great deal of attention. Promoting and supporting discussion on comparative analyses of aging among diverse primate species, including humans, this publication highlights current research on female primate reproductive aging from both institutional-based as well as field studies. The contributions highlight the complex interaction between somatic and reproductive senescence. The latter is broadly manifested along a cross-taxonomic evolutionary continuum, with humans at one end of the spectrum exhibiting the lengthiest post-reproductive lifespan.Primatologists, anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, animal behaviorists, endocrinologists, neuroscientists, and all scholars interested in aging and reproduction will find this book a valuable source of information. Considering the increasing number of geriatric primates held in captivity, it will also be helpful to animal care professionals, as it calls attention to the special care that primates may require in order to monitor, maintain and improve their health as they age.

In consultation with Consulting Editor Dr. William Rayburn, Dr. Santor and Dr. Kravitz have put together an issue that comprehensively covers age-related changes in women. Their authors, from well-respected institutions, have contributed review articles on the following topics: Declining fertility with reproductive aging: How to protect your patient’s fertility by knowing the milestones; Onset of the transition into menopause: What are the earliest signs; Menstrual cycle changes as women approach the final menses: What matters; Menstrual cycle hormone changes and how they may link to symptoms; Symptom progression across the transition: Not all women are created equal; Cardiovascular implications of vasomotor symptoms and the menopausal transition; Depression and perimenopause :Hormones, genetics and environmental determinants of disease; Sleep, health, and metabolism: Food for thought; Bone health during the menopausal transition and beyond; Sexuality in midlife and beyond; Physical function –moving and aging; Genitourinary changes with aging; and Cognitive changes with reproductive aging, perimenopause, and menopause. Readers will come away with the latest clinical information they need to treat these patients and improve outcomes.

In sub-Saharan Africa, older people make up a relatively small fraction of the total population and are supported primarily by family and other kinship networks. They have traditionally been viewed as repositories of information and wisdom, and are critical pillars of the community but as the HIV/AIDS pandemic destroys family systems, the elderly increasingly have to deal with the loss of their own support while absorbing the additional responsibilities of caring for their orphaned grandchildren. Aging in Sub-Saharan Africa explores ways to promote U.S. research interests and to augment the sub-Saharan governments' capacity to address the many challenges posed by population aging. Five major themes are explored in the book such as the need for a basic definition of "older person," the need for national governments to invest more in basic research and the coordination of data collection across countries, and the need for improved dialogue between local researchers and policy makers. This book makes three major recommendations: 1) the development of a research agenda 2) enhancing research opportunity and implementation and 3) the translation of research findings.

This book provides a unique blend of social and biomedical sciences in the field of low fertility and reproductive health. It offers a significant contribution to understanding the determinants of low fertility mostly in East Asia, including an assessment of the effectiveness of policies that aim to raise fertility. It introduces new analytical tools and methods and shares application of innovative approaches to analyzing cross-sectional and longitudinal survey data and macro socioeconomic data to shed light on changing mechanisms of low fertility in the context of reproductive health. The volume introduces the demographic dividend into the study of fertility, analyzes possible impact of population ageing on the amount of resources allocated to child rearing, i.e. the so called "crowding effect" in social care and public spending between the elderly and children. The book also tests the Low Fertility Trap (LFT) hypothesis, a new important theory regarding fertility trends. The book focuses on East Asia which is numerically large but relatively under-researched with regard to issues covered in various chapters. The relevance of the volume, however, goes beyond countries in East Asia. The book breaks new grounds and reveals little known facts regarding the influence of endocrine disruptors on male fertility through falling sperm counts, the phenomenon of marital sexlessness and about the sexual behavior of adolescents in East Asia.