Surrogate Losses
Understandings of Pregnancy Loss and Assisted Reproduction among Surrogate Mothers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2278129 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zsuzsa Berend (0009-0001-4105-4481, University of California, Los Angeles, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 240-262 |
| Publication date | 2010-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Medical Anthropology Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0745-5194 • E-ISSN: 1548-1387 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1548-1387.2010.01099.x |
| PMID | 20550095 |
| OpenAlex | W1965952182 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 20 |
| References cited | 22 |
I explore surrogate mothers' narrative construction of pregnancy loss on surrogacy support websites. Communicating via the Internet, women construct the public online world of surrogacy. Drawing on anthropological and sociological literature I investigate the connections between conceptualizations of loss and understandings of technological practices and the consequences of these understandings for assisted reproduction. Surrogate mothers define loss broadly, ranging from failure to conceive to miscarriage and stillbirth; loss means the failure to give a baby to the intended parents. Assisted reproductive technologies contribute to loss by raising expectations of success, by attempting to maximize results through the transfer of multiple fertilized ova, and by early monitoring and testing. However, surrogates collectively understand technology as a positive force and advocate for reproductive technology. Surrogates' resolve to "give the gift of life" makes them vulnerable to failure and loss, yet also informs repeated efforts to bear children for others with technological assistance
Abortion · Assisted reproductive technology · Biology · Construct (python library · Early Pregnancy Loss · Infertility · Miscarriage · Narrative · Pregnancy · Reproduction · Reproductive technology · Sociology · Computer Science · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology
National self-sufficiency in reproductive resources
New biomedical practices and discourses
Commercialization, Altruism, Clinical Practice
Cervical cancer narratives
The State of Surrogacy in New York
Parenthood, altruism, and the market
Pourquoi devrais-je adopter mon propre enfant ? Le recours à l’adoption par consentement spécial pour établir la filiation d’un enfant né d’une grossesse pour autrui au Québec
Women's Emotions One Week After Receiving or Being Denied an Abortion in the United States
The other side of the story
Conceptualizing Surrogacy as Work-Labour
Remembering deceased kin through assisted conception in India
The Romance of Surrogacy 1
The Mommy Deployment”
Paperwork
The global reproductive health market
Beliefs About When Life Begins Matter
Dimensions of time and comparative analysis in surrogacy research
Reproductive Desires and Disappointments
Surrogacy and Medicalization
(Mis)Understanding Abortion Regret
Small wars
Love and Toil
Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood
Fetal Subjects, Feminist Positions
Baby's First Picture
Internet Communication and Qualitative Research
Scenes of Misrecognition
The “fetus-infant”
Reframing and Grounding Nonhuman Agency
Some questions of identity
The Medicalization of "Nature" in the "Artificial Body
Cyborg Babies
Compelled to Try
New Avenues for Sociological Inquiry
| Unique citing works | 20 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,33 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2025 (15) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |