Since the turn of the century, improvements in medi­cal care including the use of obstetrical instruments and techniques have resulted in a dramatic decline in infant and childhood mortality in developed countries. Cur­rently, infant mortality is more of a socioeconomic problem. The greatest difficulties are encountered with teenage pregnancies, which are associated with little or no prenatal care. Infants born today in developed countries have a 98 percent chance of growing up healthily. There has also been much progress in prenatal medicine as the understanding of genetics, fertility, pregnancy, and embryonic development has increased. As a result, prospective parents can now be counseled on such matters as the likelihood of their children having a genetic disorder or, if there is a problem with fertility, how to maximize the chance of conception.