Should GPs get involved in population and climate problems?

British families are being urged to keep the number of children that they have to a maximum of two children per family unit.

According to University College, London’s John Guillebaud and Exeter GP Pip Hayes mushrooming population around the world is putting extreme pressure on the world’s resources and increasing the output of green house gases.

They say that population growth across the globe has now reached the point where there are nearly 7 million additional mouths to feed every single month.

They have raised the question of individual population responsibility, in the highly respected British Medical Journal, and say that couples in the UK should be “told” to stop having in excess of two children.

Contrary to popular belief the number of babies born each year in the UK is on the rise and has been going ever upwards since 2001 with an average of nearly two children for each adult female in the country.

Starting in the early 80s the number of children being born in the UK fell smoothly, that trend continued until the turn of the century when the numbers began to climb again.

They go on to argue that we have a greater responsibility in population control than developing nations, they say that the reason for this is that a child born in the UK will be responsible for over 150 times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions than a child born in east Africa.

Previous open discussions about “controlling” the UK population numbers sparked by China’s “one child” policy were shot down in flames before they even began. What the pair seem to be urging is that GPs should advise couples that having too many kids is bad for the environment, but this is likely to be perceived as well outside your local family doctors usual job.

They say that GPs should provide information and counseling to couples to encourage then to have “one less” child than they originally intended, by pointing out that the children that they do have will be safer in a planet that has less population and therefore less harmful emissions.

According to the discussion in the journal, around 50% of all children born across the world are not planned and more widespread use of contraception and planning of births could dramatically curb increasing population numbers.