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The society is founded
As the first medical society in Denmark, the Danish Society of Obstetrics
and Gynaecology was founded 5 October 1898 at a meeting in Copenhagen
on the initiative of professors Frantz Howitz and Leopold Meyer.
They were most likely inspired to do this by their many international
contacts. The aim of the society was to promote the speciality of
obstetrics and gynaecology. In the beginning this was accomplished
through discussions and demonstrations of anatomical specimens. But
after a couple of years the meetings were centered around lectures.
And this activity has survived to this day, where the Society - in
accordance with it's statutes - strives to promote and develop the
scientific work of obstetricians and gynaecologists in Denmark. Another
aim of the Society is to issue guidelines for, and to supervise,
the training and education within the speciality.
The society expands
I the first decade of it's life the membership of the Society rose
from approximately twenty at it's founding to around one hundred in
1910. The next fifty years saw a slower rise, and in 1960 the Society
had approximately 165 members. Since then the membership has increased
to 886 members at the annual meeting of the society in April 2000.
Meetings
The meetings of the Society were held on a monthly basis until a few
years ago. At that time the meeting frequency was changed to every
half year, but their duration were changed to a couple of days. This
enables a more thorough deliberation of the subjects compared to the
monthly meetings that only lasted a couple of hours. Throughout the
century of the Society's existence numerous issues and controversies
in obstetrics and gynaecology has been discussed. In fact, a review
of the agendas of the Societies meetings illustrates the development
of the speciality in Denmark. At times the debates have been heated,
as in 1923 when contraceptives was discussed. Usually, though, the
meetings of the Society have been of a high professional standard.
Public relations
Apart from the strictly professional elaboration of gynaecological
and obstetrical issues, the Society has also had spoken out in public
on issues like cancer treatment, abortion legislation, specialist training
etc. At the same time the Society has expanded it's international relations.
Thus, the Society naturally was involved in the founding in 1920 of
Acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica; today it is a well regarded
international scientific journal, published by the Nordic Federation
of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NFOG).
At the turn of the century
The largest event in the history of the Society was the FIGO World
Congress, held in Copenhagen in 1997. HM Queen Margrethe II served
as patroness of the congress. More than 6.000 active participants of
more than 110 countries visited the congress, the largest this far
to be held in Copenhagen. Today the Society is still actively engaged
in promoting obstetrical and gynaecological issues, ie. through contacts
with public offices. And with the annual 'Sandbjerg'-meetings the Society
promotes consensus-making in the field of obstetrics. Despite it's
advanced age, the Society is still very much alive.
Torsten Sørensen |
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