Abstract
The article analyses knowledge assimilation and the development of clinical and research practices relating to sex hormones among Brazilian gynaecologists. It discusses the paths taken by medical thought from the reception of the hormones to their transformation into contraceptives. Our objective is to comprehend styles of introducing and disseminating medical technologies in the area of reproductive health in Brazil. It uses methods of historical analysis and takes as its source the Anais Brasileiros de Ginecologia, a journal published between 1936 and 1970. From the outset, the accompaniment of scientific breakthroughs in relation to sex hormones and their use to treat diverse female illnesses played a key role in the rapid medical acceptance of hormonal contraception. Scientific and technical questions (side effects, dosages) and the demographic issue formed part of the majority of the debates. Objections from the Catholic Church were considered but did not set the agenda of medical thought on contraceptives. The quest to consolidate gynaecology as a scientific, modern and cosmopolitan area of expertise, along with sanitary and demographic motives that allowed contraceptives to be classed as ethical drugs, are identified as processes underlying the assimilation and metabolization of sex hormones as hormonal contraceptives.
Highlights
The concept of hormones as chemical messengers that regulate organic processes first emerged in the early years of the twentieth century
This article analyses the processes of knowledge assimilation and the development of clinical and research practices relating to sex hormones among Brazilian gynaecologists
The journal Anais Brasileiros de Ginecologia provides us with clues to how Brazilian gynaecologists accompanied and systemized new discoveries in the field of the physiology and endocrinology of reproduction from the beginning, appropriating knowledge about the ovulatory cycle and sex hormones, adhering to the widespread use of these substances, and taking them as a landmark in the new diagnostic, therapeutic and scientific frontiers of this field of expertise
Summary
The concept of hormones as chemical messengers that regulate organic processes first emerged in the early years of the twentieth century. In the 1920s and 30s, sex hormones were chemically identified, synthesized and commercialized as drugs for the treatment of diverse conditions, including menstrual disorders, infertility and menopause in women, and impotence and loss of libido in men. The endeavours to develop a hormonal contraceptive drove the formation of a network bringing together scientists, physicians, feminists, philanthropists and representatives from the population control establishment. This process was gestated in the context of neo-Malthusian worries over population growth, an expansion in the power of biomedicine and advances in medicalization processes, the rise of the multinational pharmaceutical industry, transformations in the roles of women in many societies, and disputes over sexual and reproductive norms[1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
