Wombs in Labor

Amrita Pande is a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on the intersection of new technologies and reproductive labor, and her writings have appeared in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Gender and Society, Critical Social Policy, International Migration Review, Qualitative Sociology, Feminist Studies, the Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Reproductive BioMedicine, and in several edited volumes. She is also an educator-performer and is currently involved in a multimedia theater performance, Made in India: Notes from a Baby Farm, which is based on her ethnographic work on surrogacy.

• Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Wombs in Labor 2. Pro-natal Technologies in an Anti-natal State 3. When the Fish Talk About the Water 4. Manufacturing the Perfect Mother-Worker 5. Everyday Divinities and God's Labor 6. Embodied Labor and Neo-eugenics 7. Disposable Workers and Dirty Labor 8. Disposable Mothers and Kin Labor 9. Conclusion: Aporia of Surrogacy Epilogue: Did the "Sperm on a Rickshaw" Save the Third World? Appendix A. Selected Clauses from the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Draft Bill Appendix B. Consent Form to Be Signed by Surrogates Appendix C. Descriptive Tables Notes Works Cited Index

Wombs in Labor is an absorbing and meticulously researched work. Amrita Pande fruitfully scrutinises the minutiae of interactions among surrogates and the community of a clinic for their underlying meaning... recommended to anyone interested in the subject of surrogacy and will please all readers. LSE Review of Books Wombs in Labor is an important book that sheds light on the workings of transnational commercial surrogacy in India... This book is a valuable read for anyone interested in commercial surrogacy, global inequality and women's labor. -- Koh Sin Yee Asian Review of Books A theoretically sophisticated and nuanced ethnography of interest to scholars in South Asian studies, women's studies, reproductive health, and labor studies. Choice At times heart-wrenching, Pande's ethnographic research provides a detailed and empathetic look at the business of India's surrogacy industry... Journal of International Womens Studies an excellent contribution to undergraduate or graduate classes on globalization, reproduction, gender, or work. -- Anna Curtis Gender and Society a fascinating look at the world of the Indian surrogate and the choice she makes in an effort to better her and her family's economic status. -- Sarah Thomas Journal of International Women's Studies Wombs in Labor is foundational. -- Rajani Bhatia Womens Review of Books Wombs in Labor is a valuable and timely contribution to the steadily increasing scholarship on assisted reproductive technologies and is a fascinating addition to the anthropology of work. Anthropology of Work Review A must-read for students of labor, gender, and reproductive politics. -- Sumit Guha H-Asia