Guttmacher discusses the "staggering" rate of world population growth and the problems nations will inevitably face as a result, such as land shortages and health and nutritional shortfalls. These issues will be especially pronounced in underdeveloped countries. Historically, and until quite recently, the world‘s population was primarily mitigated by pestilence and poor sanitation. The major problem now, Guttmacher asserts, is that modernity has enabled people to live too long. "We‘ve learned to practice death control before learning to practice birth control." He continues with a discussion of the various forms of birth control.