1st Edition

Inconceivable Conceptions Psychological Aspects of Infertility and Reproductive Technology

Edited By Jane Haynes, Juliet Miller Copyright 2003
    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    It is over two decades since the first test-tube baby was born. During this period a new belief that all infertile women can now have babies has become widely accepted; indeed, infertile couples may feel great pressure to seek a medical solution. However, the psychological and social effects of the changing experiences of infertility remain confusing, both for those who experience infertility and for wider society. In this book, a distinguished range of contributors, including novelist Hilary Mantel and Germaine Greer, examine the experience of infertility from both male and female perspectives, the psychological aspects of infertility diagnosis and treatment, and the often radical and unexpected effects on kinship.
    Drawing from a wide range of theoretical backgrounds including Jungian, analytical, and compelling personal reflections, this book aims to unravel the implications of advancing reproductive technology for our understanding of ourselves and our families.

    Introduction Jane Haynes, Juliet Miller, Introduction. Dickinson B. Cowan, Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Fertility Clinic. Experiencing Infertility. Hilary Mantel, Clinical Waste. Ronald Higgins, One Man's Story. Psychological Aspects, Joan Raphael-Leff, Eros And Art. Juliet Miller, Mourning the Never Born and the Loss of The Angel. Michael Pawson, The Battle With Mortality and the Urge to Procreate. Sammy Lee, Myth And Reality In Male Infertility. George Christie, Ann Morgan, Love, Hate and the Generative Couple. Changing Patterns Of Kinship. Emma Scrimgeour, The Story Of Seth's Egg. Flora Srimgeour, Seth. Monica Konrad, Gifts Of Life In Absentia: Regenerative Fertility And The Puzzle Of The 'Missing Genetrix'. Jane Haynes, Women's Work: The Practice of Donor Insemination Amongst Some Lesbian Women. Sue Stewart-Smith, Egg Donation: The Mission to Have a Child. The Shadow. Diane Finiello Zervas, Dark Reflections: The Shadow Side of Assisted Reproductive Techniques. Afterword, Germaine Greer , Afterword. Appendix. Glossary of terms used in ART (assisted reproductive technology). Index.

    Biography

    Juliet Miller is a Jungian Analyst in full time private practice in London. Prior to training as an analyst she worked as a writer and producer/director of documentaries and made films on many aspects of women's, environmental and social issues.
    Jane Haynes is a Jungian Analyst working in full time private practice in central London.

    At a time when many of us are struggling with the mass of new information about ART and attempting to assess the impact that it will have on people's lives, the editors have helped us to fill many gaps in our knowledge. The imaginative choice of contributors ensures that we are both informed on many levels and stimulated into thinking further about the growing dilemmas. - Elizabeth Andrew in British Journal of Psychotherapy, 2004, vol 20 no: 4

    It was a fascinating, stimulating, reflective, pleasurable and sometimes emotional read. This is an important book in our field and my hope is that this overview will encourage you to beg, borrow or buy Inconceivable Conceptions. - Jane Read in the Journal of Fertility Counselling, 2004