The DemoSoc seminars at Universitat Pompeu Fabra aims to gather all researchers at UPF and beyond working on the fields of demography and sociology (social stratification).

Next DemoSoc Seminar of this course will take place on:

March, 17th

12.00 h 

 Room 20.191 Jaume I

Fertility World: Conceiving Families through Maternal Bricolage (Or the Uneven Terrain And Hidden Work of IVF)

Rosanna Hertz, Wellesley College, U.S.A.

Abstract: Making babies has become not only an achievement but an enterprise. The pursuit of parenthood has become more complicated and stratified, especially as people delay children. First births today are occurring at increasingly older ages for women, especially for those who have advanced education, in almost all North American and European countries. As women delay parenthood into their late thirties, they are likely to turn to a fertility clinic for help building their family.  This talk is based on  in-depth interviews with over 100 individuals who delayed parenthood and turned to a fertility clinic in North America.  They are single women, heterosexual and same-sex couples. Their stories bring to light the hidden, difficult and sometimes inventive work women and men do to take home a baby.

The world of fertility treatment is rife with tension. The talk will address these questions that are concerns about delaying motherhood that I raise in my forthcoming book :

1. When women (and their partners)  go to fertility clinics they expect to bring home genetically-related children. In the absence of genetic ties how do women claim motherhood? What do they disclose to their child?
2. Paradoxically, women who turned to IVF and first worried about creating enough embryos find themselves faced with too many embryos. Women may be fortunate enough to produce a surplus of viable embryos after undergoing IVF (invitro fertilization), but how do they manage those embryos once they have successfully produced a child (or two)?
3. What are the implications for reproductive justice?