This book discusses many aspects of fetuses and motherhood from fields as wide as sociology and medicine. It examines changing perceptions of the fetus over recent decades, comparing western ideas with those of non-western countries; examining maternal mental health during COVID-19 and charting the ascent of the 'fetus' to a cult phenomenon, which has currently reappeared in the courts. This work, given its multifaceted approach, will be of interest to a varied and wide range of people, from parents to doctors and nurses, to anthropologists and ethnologists, to scientists, to students of various disciplines, to psychologists and psychoanalysts, to lawyers dealing with the topic and to a general public simply interested in these fundamental themes.
Author(s): Alessandra Piontelli
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 376
City: Cham
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Figures
1: Introduction: The Wavering Fortunes of the Fetus
The Wavering Fortunes of the Fetus
Part I: The Ascent of the Fetus
2: The 1960s and the 1970s
The Seeds of Change Are Sown
The Sexual Revolution
Unveiling Pregnancy in the 1960s and the 1970s
Medical-Pharmaceutical Disasters
The Nestlé-Powder Milk Scandal and the Birth of La Leche League
Gestating Dangerously
Private and Hospital Referrals
The Psycho-prophylactic Method
Childbirth in the 1960s and the 1970s
Iconic Pictures
A Serene Pregnancy and a Sweet Birth
Bibliography
3: The 1980s
The Advent of Ultrasound
Amniocentesis and CVS (Chorionic Villus Sampling)
The Fear of Radiation
The Horrifying Fetus
The Birth of the New Fathers
Thomas Verny and International Fetal Societies
The Silent Scream: A Loud Deceit
The Birth of Fertility Treatments
Pregnancy in the 1980s
The Delivery During the 1980s
Starting Research
Breaking Bad and Sad News
Bibliography
4: The 1990s
Fetal Images
Bonding with Fetuses
Fetal Primers and Magazines
The Consumer Fetus
‘Reborn’ Fetuses and Dolls
Motherhood on the Covers of Glossy Magazines
Delivery in the 1990s
The Rise of the Doula
Fading Excitement at Birth
From Star to Fallen Star
Bibliography
5: The First Decade of the New Millennium
The Revolution of Assisted Reproduction Technologies
Frozen for Eternity
The Twins Epidemic
Wondrous and Miraculous Fetuses
The Transparent Uterus
Keepsake Ultrasound
Belly Casts
Ann Geddes’s Misleading Talent
Pregnancies of the Stars
Sexy in the Consulting Room
Losing a Child
The Vanishing Twin and the Demise of Fetal Twins
Bibliography
6: 2010–2019
The Viral Fetus
The Royal Fetus
The Pixar Fetus
The Invulnerable Fetus
Breaking Nature’s Limits
Surrogacy
Some Objections and Counterarguments to Surrogacy
Alarm from Hollywood and the Catwalks
Celebrity Pregnancies. Latest Trends
Porn in the Consulting Room and the Labor Ward
Back to Nature
Natural Births in the NHS
The Mass Entry of Companions
Gay Culture Orients Everything
Times Are Changing
Bibliography
7: Citizen Fetus
How Fetuses Are Perceived
Points from the Past
The Advent of the Main Religions
The Age of Enlightenment: Probing Women’s Bodies
The Rise of Maternal-Fetal Conflict. The Fetus as a Patient
Before and After WWII
Unborn in the USA
Bibliography
Part II: Beyond Mythology
8: Studying Fetuses
How Fetuses Are Commonly Interpreted
Fetal Movements and Fetal Behavior
Fetal Sensations
Fetal Animals
Premature Infants
Other Research and Views
Fetal Research and Working with Obstetricians
Bibliography
9: Main Fetal Movements and Some Known Functions
Why Fetal Motions
General Movements
Just a Final Point
Local or Localized Movements
Fetal Breathing Movements
Sucking and Swallowing
Swallowing
Sucking
Startles
Hiccups and Yawning
Hiccups
Yawning
Bibliography
10: Preparing for Life After Birth
Facial Expressions
Twin Fetuses Fly the Flag of the Social Fetus
Longing and Loss in the Twin Fetus
Bibliography
Part III: Other Perspectives on Fetuses
11: Old Customs and New Cults
Belly Casts and African Belly Masks
Fetal Cemeteries: Their Japanese Roots
The Placenta
Umbilical Cord and Lotus Birth
The Rebirth of the Vulva and Vagina
Exporting Abroad
Bibliography
12: Fetuses from Other Worlds
Fertility Treatments Where Treatments Are Lacking
Unusual Conceptions
Without Amniocentesis and Prenatal Diagnoses
Gendericide
Children and Fetuses in War
Maternity and Delivery Elsewhere
Prenatal Psychology in the Wild
Prenatal Psychology in a High-Tech Empire
Menstruation and Parturition Huts
Infanticide as Delayed Abortion
Bibliography
Part IV: Covid Pandemic and Fetuses Become Citizens
13: Darkness Descends: Sars-CoV-19
We Should Have Known Better
Zombie Preparedness
End of an Era
Transient Euphoria
Panic Buying
Anger
Death in Mind
It Seemed the Better Way
The Joys of the Olympians
VIP Pregnancies
Ode to Video Communication
Bibliography
14: Pregnancies and Fetuses Fade into Obscurity
Boom in Births as in the 1965 New York Black Out?
Time to Die
Fetal Erasure
Collapse of Births
Not Just the Pandemic
Waiting
Freedom and Independence
Depression and Anxiety
Keep Away from Me
Adolescents
Generational Divide
Fetuses Turn Up in Tribunals, Courts and Cemeteries
Bibliography
15: Pregnancies and Home After Birth
Hero to Zero
Where Have All the Flowers Gone
Fear of Pregnancy and of the Fetus
Fears of Childbirth
Chernobyl
The Thing
The Fetus Becomes Viral
Wish You Were Here
Just Breathe
Breastfeeding
Perinatal Depression
The Sound of Silence
Initial and Involuntary Pregnancies
The Surrogate Dilemma
Clarified Fears
Love and Sex During Coronavirus
The Honeymoon Is Over
Violence in Couples
Boredom
Digital Technology
Sex Toys as Companions and Pornography
The Spread of Porn
Blue Pills
The Virus Made Sexy
Fetishizing Fetuses
Bibliography
16: Fetuses Become Unborn Citizens
Awakenings
Medical Dilemmas
Some Arguments Against Abortion
Some Arguments in Favor of Pro-choice
And Now?
How Are People Coping?
What Do Most Do?
Bibliography
17: Conclusion
Citizens of Different Worlds
Citizens of Western Societies
Fetuses as a Body of Science
The Maternal Body as a Public Arena
In Other Worlds
Under the Thin Veil of Rationality
Out of This World
Covid-19, Pregnancies and Mental Health
Roe v. Wade Overturned
Index
