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Slide 1
Lecture 5: Embodied Experiences of Pregnancy in a Technological
Age Dr Sherah Wells [email protected] Transformations:
Gender, Reproduction, and Contemporary Society
PPupdateSWells11.12
Slide 2
The gestation of a lecture Part 1 Dos and Donts Introduction to
antenatal testingPart 2 Gender, risk, responsibility and
decision-making Part 3 Ultrasound in a visual society: a Light and
Sound Show'
Slide 3
Dos and Donts in Pregnancy Eat fish, but not more than 2
portions oily fish/week and no shark, swordfish, marlin Drink
plenty of water Avoid mould ripened soft cheese (brie, camembert)
and blue-veined cheese (stilton) Avoid pate, avoid soft eggs, avoid
liver, consider avoiding peanuts Avoid unpasteurised milk Cook all
meat thoroughly and wash all fruit and veg Wear gloves if gardening
Dont change cat litter Take a folic acid supplement Make sure you
get enough iron No more than 4 cups coffee per day, less if
drinking cola Avoid alcohol Avoid smoking Avoid drugs Avoid people
with chicken-pox Dont try to lose weight while pregnant Source: BBC
Health website
Slide 4
Antenatal testing: Screening Calculation of the statistical
risk that a condition is present
Slide 5
Antenatal testing: Diagnostics Confirmation of a condition
(tests are invasive and include a risk of miscarriage).
Slide 6
Common screening tests Blood tests for genetic conditions
(sickle cell anaemia; thalassemia; cystic fibrosis) Blood tests for
chromosomal abnormalities (Downs syndrome) Blood tests for
multifactorial disorders (Spina bifida; Anencephaly) Ultrasound
scans (foetal viability) Nuchal fold (Downs syndrome)
Assessing/ understanding risk Understanding the meaning of risk
information can be difficult: Relies on the knowledge and
communication skills of the health professional False positives
cause unnecessary anxiety Benefits of screening vs. the anxiety it
may cause http://www.healthtalkonline.org/Pregnancy_child
ren/Antenatal_Screening/Topic/2056/
Slide 9
Assessing/ understanding risk Interviewer: Did you feel that
you had an adequate understanding of the risk information you were
being given? [1:60 but risk reducing as pregnancy progressed]
Woman: It was meaningless. It was meaningless, because you never,
you don't think about, risk is meaningless. What actually would've
been useful would be to, say, compare it to, Well, what's the risk
about, of me having an accident if I get in a car? What's the risk
of me, you know, being knocked over as I walk down the street? And
in that context it would've meant more [The couple decided not to
have amniocentesis and the baby did not have Downs]. Source:
http://www.healthtalkonline.org/Pregnancy_children/Antena
tal_Screening
Slide 10
Assessing/ understanding risk One woman was delighted her risk
was 1 in 1700 after the nuchal scan, having been 1 in 300 or 400 on
the basis of her age alone, but she later had a baby with Down's
syndrome. In retrospect discovering she was 'the one' made the
figures seem meaningless. Source:
http://www.healthtalkonline.org/Pregnancy_childr
en/Antenatal_Screening
Slide 11
Assessing/ understanding risk We got really lucky, I mean the
doctor who did the scan, when she came out with our odds, she said
that it was the lowest chance that she had seen in years. So we
felt really reassured by that, as opposed to what the number would
be to actually go and have the next step, something like
amniocentesis. Source:
http://www.healthtalkonline.org/Pregnancy_childr
en/Antenatal_Screening
Slide 12
Decision-making: Further Tests Following a screen positive,
parents have to decide whether to have further diagnostic tests
Markens, S., C. H. Browner et al. (1999) Because of the risks: how
US pregnant women account for refusing prenatal screening, Social
Science and Medicine, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 359-369 Is choice always
really a choice? Whose choice is it?
Slide 13
Decision-making After Diagnosis Following a diagnosis, parents
are then faced with a number of choices: Foetal surgery or similar
treatment Continuing with the pregnancy without intervention
Termination of the pregnancy Is choice always really a choice?
Whose choice is it?
What we see must be true (an assumption) Medical gaze looked
into corpses but is now trained on live bodies Ultrasound relies on
soundwaves to build up a picture 12 week ultrasound scan is
routine, 20 week common Womens haptic hexus (embodied knowledge of
pregnancy) is displaced by the optic hexus (visual knowledge of
pregnancy Visual Medical Knowledge
Slide 17
Ultrasound: The sound and light show Bonding with a greyish
blur Social birth precedes biological birth 20 weeks 12 weeks
Slide 18
12 weeks - Twins 20 weeks
Slide 19
Fathers and Ultrasound Scans Seeing the baby as real Feeling
like a father Respect and trust for Technology The authority of
healthcare (professionals)
Slide 20
3D/4D screening technologies Less need for interpretation
Is the Scan a Social or a Medical Event? Medical professionals:
gathering information about the foetal patient Couples: seeking
visual confirmation to share with their social network Bad news
will transform the scans meaning for the couple
Slide 23
Conclusions New technologies create new needs and demands
Technologies do not evolve in a vacuum. They are subject to social
constraints. Focus on technology can divert attention from power
struggles in human relationships