Rewriting fertilization: Trust, pain, and exit points (original) (raw)

Ready for any sacrifice? Women in IVF programmes

Issues in reproductive and genetic engineering : journal of international feminist analysis, 1990

Synopsis‐This article investigates the question of how the involvement of women in invitro fertilisation programmes is to be explained and offers two answers: (a) women collaborate, because they have either too little or false information about their own bodily processes, the risks of IVF, etc. However, providing information alone is not enough, as there are also women who already have experienced IVF and nevertheless continue to actively promote it, (b) Women collaborate, because they (have to) employ their bodies as a means of structuring their private and social relations: as a reaction to the contradictions of being a woman in patriarchy; of getting controlled ‘self determination’ instead of ‘self-determined’ control, and of allaying guilt. Synopsis‐Dieser Artikel geht der Frage nach, wie die In-Anspruch-Nahme von Frauen der In-Vitro Fertilisations-Programme zu erklaren ist und stellt zwei Antworten darauf vor: (a) Frauen machen mit, weil sie zu wenig bzw. falsche Informationen ...

Retrieving, Believing and Conceiving: Coming to terms with distress in IVF cycles “

We`re proud to present you the concept of #Denudation, the 6th issue of Reproductive Health Club magazine (RHCM) 2021, Turkey, European Union. Magazine Article: “Retrieving, Believing and Conceiving: Coming to terms with distress in IVF cycles “ authored by Dr. Ansha Patel featured in RHCM. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/reproductivehealthclub\_rhc-6th-issue-activity-6878637625452834816-eS20\. Citation: Patel, A. (2021). Retrieving, Believing and Conceiving: Coming to terms with distress in IVF cycles.Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/posts/reproductivehealthclub\_rhc-6th-issue-activity-6878637625452834816-eS20.

Invisible Vulnerabilities: Ethical, Practical and Methodological Dilemmas in Conducting Qualitative Research on the Interaction with IVF Embryos

Societies, 2020

The burden of deciding the fate of the supernumerary human embryo created in vitro in the context of Assisted Reproductive Technologies rests on the beneficiary couples or individuals who conceived the parental project. The beneficiaries must also take on the responsibility of choosing whether to donate surplus embryos either to others or to scientific research, or to request their destruction. Vulnerable beings, weakened from the point of view of their identity (facing the social stigma still associated with some circumstances such as being infertile, lesbian or a single mother), are required to have skills such as reflexivity and autonomy in dramatic situations that concern their relationship with their own reproductive body. Given the urgency of this issue at the socio-anthropological level, we are conducting ethnographic research aimed at analysing how specialists and lay people objectivate, evaluate and circulate different conceptions of the human embryo in vitro. Based on our research experience within this ongoing project, we intend to discuss some ethical, practical and methodological concerns for the researcher in accessing the field and conducting fieldwork. We take into account the fact that this research is focused on sensitive topics and on individuals who can be considered people in vulnerable situations.

Extreme desire for motherhood: Analysis of narratives from women undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)

Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 2019

The problem of infertility and its consequent treatment (denoted as Assisted Reproductive Technology or ART) represent an increasing phenomenon, especially in industrialized countries. Confronting with one’s own procreative limitations can generate strong negative emotional reactions. This study aims at understanding how the desire for motherhood manifests itself in infertile women undergoing ART, studying their emotional and subjective perspective. An in-depth explorative research study was conducted on 17 infertile women attending an Italian hospital clinic for fertility treatment. Emotional text analysis was conducted to analyze the corpus of their interviews, allowing the identification of four thematic domains (clusters) which refer, respectively, to the following emotional dimensions: an inclination to self-sacrifice, seen as the price to be paid for the desired success of the treatment (Cluster 1), pursuit of inclusion in the world of procreative mothers (Cluster 2), precario...

Emotions and Ethical Considerations of Women Undergoing IVF-Treatments

Women who suffer from fertility issues often use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to realize their wish to have children. However, IVF has its own set of strict administration rules that leave the women physically and emotionally exhausted. Feeling alienated and frustrated, many IVF users turn to internet IVF-centered forums to share their stories and to find information and support. Based on the observation of Dutch and Greek IVF forums and a selection of 109 questionnaires from Dutch and Greek IVF forum users, we investigate the reasons why users of IVF participate in online communities centered on IVF, their need for emotional expression and support, and how they experience and use the information and support they receive through their participation in the online community. We argue that the emotional concerns expressed in such forums should be taken into account by health care ethics committees for IVF-related matters in order to promote more patient-oriented care and support for women going through IVF. OO

(De)Bonding with Embryos: The Emotional Choreographies of Portuguese IVF Patients

Social Science and Medicine, 2023

In this article we develop the new concept of emotional choreography to describe how patients bond, debond and/or rebond with their embryos created in vitro using assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Using this concept, we explore how the patients’ management of their own emotions intertwines with political, scientific, and religious factors. Our analysis relies on and further advances Thompson’s concepts of ethical and ontological “choreography”. It is through these forms of choreography that complex contemporary biomedical issues with high political, ethical, and scientific stakes are negotiated, and through which different actors, entities, practices, roles, and norms undergo mutual constitution, reinforcement and (re)definition. Our article draws on the analysis of 69 in-depth interviews and the results of an online survey with 85 respondents.