The
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a
professional associationA professional association is a non-profit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest.The roles of these professional associations have been variously defined: "A group of people in a learned...
based in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of
obstetricsObstetrics is the surgical specialty dealing with the care of women and their children during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal. Midwifery is the non-medical equivalent...
and
gynaecologyGynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women". Almost all modern gynaecologists are also obstetricians...
, that is,
pregnancyPregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets. Human pregnancy is the most studied of all mammalian pregnancies. Obstetrics is the surgical field...
,
childbirthChildbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
, and
female sexualHuman sexuality is how people experience the erotic and express themselves as sexual beings. Frequently driven by the desire for sexual pleasure, human sexuality has biological, physical and emotional aspects...
and
reproductive healthWithin the framework of WHO's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system at all stages of life...
. RCOG is dedicated to "improving sexual and reproductive healthcare worldwide", and just over half of its 11,000 members live outside Britain, spread among 83 other countries..
It was founded as the
British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1929 by Professor William Blair-Bell and Sir William Fletcher Shaw and was granted a
Royal CharterIn medieval Europe, royal charters were used to create cities . The date that such a charter was granted is considered to be when a city was "founded", regardless of when the locality originally began to be settled.At one time a royal charter was the only way in which an incorporated body could be...
on 21 March 1947.
The
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a
professional associationA professional association is a non-profit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest.The roles of these professional associations have been variously defined: "A group of people in a learned...
based in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of
obstetricsObstetrics is the surgical specialty dealing with the care of women and their children during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal. Midwifery is the non-medical equivalent...
and
gynaecologyGynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women". Almost all modern gynaecologists are also obstetricians...
, that is,
pregnancyPregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets. Human pregnancy is the most studied of all mammalian pregnancies. Obstetrics is the surgical field...
,
childbirthChildbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
, and
female sexualHuman sexuality is how people experience the erotic and express themselves as sexual beings. Frequently driven by the desire for sexual pleasure, human sexuality has biological, physical and emotional aspects...
and
reproductive healthWithin the framework of WHO's definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system at all stages of life...
. RCOG is dedicated to "improving sexual and reproductive healthcare worldwide", and just over half of its 11,000 members live outside Britain, spread among 83 other countries..
It was founded as the
British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1929 by Professor William Blair-Bell and Sir William Fletcher Shaw and was granted a
Royal CharterIn medieval Europe, royal charters were used to create cities . The date that such a charter was granted is considered to be when a city was "founded", regardless of when the locality originally began to be settled.At one time a royal charter was the only way in which an incorporated body could be...
on 21 March 1947. It has as its object "The encouragement of the study and the advancement of the science and practice of obstetrics and gynaecology", although its governing documents impose no specific restrictions on its operation. Its offices are near
Regent's ParkRegent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the northern part of central London partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden.It contains Regent's College and the London Zoo....
in
central LondonThe term Central London refers to the districts of London which are considered closest to the centre. There is no conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London". Central London covers about 10 square miles on areas both north and south of the...
.
The College promotes standards of care in obstetrics and gynaecology by a programme of research, publication, and review. Areas of prenatal studies have included the effect of obesity of the expectant mother on frequency of birth defects. The College examines and evaluates other researchers' results, as in the 1999 claim that coffee could cause miscarriage, which they found to be unsupported, and the claimed
connection between breast cancer and abortionThe abortion-breast cancer hypothesis posits that induced abortion increases the risk of developing breast cancer. This position contrasts with the scientific consensus that abortion does not cause breast cancer....
, which RCOG also found unsupported.
RCOG has published many informational guides and studies, including thirty on contraception, twenty-four on
pregnancy complicationsComplications of pregnancy are the symptoms and problems that are associated with pregnancy. There are both routine problems and serious, even potentially fatal problems. The routine problems are normal complications, and pose no significant danger to either the woman or the fetus...
, and five on
abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
. Other topics covered include
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
,
breastfeedingBreastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk...
, diabetes in pregnancy, and
neonatologyNeonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn infant. It is a hospital-based specialty, and is usually practiced in neonatal intensive care units...
(resuscitation of the newborn, in which skill RCOG recommends that all professionals present at the time of birth are proficient). In addition, the College publishes books ranging from biographies of significant people in the profession, to textbooks for trainees, to results of research.
The laws of Great Britain allow women up to the 24th week of pregnancy to obtain an abortion, subject to two doctors agreeing that it would be less damaging to her physical or
mental healthMental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life...
than continuing with the pregnancy. (The law in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
is more restrictive.) RCOG recommends that women should be offered a choice of different methods, subject to circumstances. Anti-abortion campaigners have taken the opportunity of a parliamentary human tissue and embryology bill to propose an amendment reducing the time limits, and in evidence to an enquiry by MPs the RCOG joined the
British Medical AssociationThe British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council . The association’s headquarters are located in BMA...
and the
Royal College of NursingThe Royal College of Nursing is a membership organisation with over 395,000 members in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1916, receiving its Royal Charter in 1928, Queen Elizabeth II is the patron...
in stating in evidence that the upper time limit for abortion should remain at 24 weeks. The RCOG also supported proposals by the BMA that abortion should be available to women in the first three months of pregnancy on the basis of "
informed consentInformed consent is a legal condition whereby a person can be said to have given consent based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications and future consequences of an action. In order to give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning...
" without the need for the permission of two doctors.
In 2006 the RCOG made a submission to a
Nuffield Council on BioethicsThe Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on ethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research...
enquiry into
critical careIntensive care medicine or critical care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the provision of life support or organ support systems in patients who are critically ill and who usually require intensive monitoring.- Overview :...
in foetal and neonatal medicine, looking at the ethical, social and legal issues which may arise when making decisions surrounding treating extremely
premature babiesIn humans, preterm birth refers to the birth of a baby of less than 37 weeks gestational age. Premature birth, commonly used as a synonym for preterm birth, refers to the birth of a premature infant. Because it is by far the most common cause of prematurity, preterm birth is the major cause of...
. The College stated that there should be discussion over whether "deliberate intervention" to cause death in severely disabled newborn babies should be legalised, while stating that it was not necessarily in favour of the move, but felt it should be debated. The
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
submission supported the view that doctors should be given the right to withhold treatment from seriously disabled newborn babies in exceptional circumstances, and the
Christian Medical FellowshipThe Christian Medical Fellowship , founded in 1949, is an evangelical, interdenominational organisation that links together Christian doctors and medical students in the UK....
stated that when treatment would be "a burden" this was not
euthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner. Many different forms of euthanasia can be distinguished, including animal euthanasia and human euthanasia, and within the latter, voluntary and involuntary euthanasia...
.