This book is a discourse analysis of a series of interviews with women and couples who have had IVF unsuccessfully and who have subsequently stopped treatment. Taking a feminist approach, the book argues that treatment failure produces an ongoing and profoundly gendered burden of discursive work which is oriented towards locating the self, and the engagement with IVF, as 'normal'.
KAREN THROSBY is a Lecturer in Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. Her current research interests include pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and the donation of embryos for stem cell research. She has previously published articles on a variety of aspects of IVF failure and the end of treatment.
Introduction A Feminist Approach to IVF Normalising IVF: Negotiating Nature and Technology Coping with Consumption Managing Visibility Taking Responsibility Seeking Resolution Conclusion