Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

As we enter the twenty-first century, a number of medical, environmental and social changes have profoundly affected human reproduction. This book discusses some of the more dramatic changes in an accessible manner, illustrating the ways in which human biology and culture can affect fertility and providing a unique interdisciplinary perspective on the subject. Topics include medical technologies that equip us with potential cures for many causes of infertility; diseases such as AIDS that have a devastating impact on the reproductive and social lives of humans, particularly in areas with limited access to medical care; increasing industrialisation and the development of fabricated materials that pollute our environment in unforeseen ways with possibly devastating effects on human health and fertility; and, finally, social revolutions that profoundly alter human relationships, such as non-marital unions between heterosexual couples, same-sex relationships, adoption and surrogacy which are becoming increasingly common.

Infertility. --- Infertility --- Fertility, Human --- Human fertility --- Natality --- Demography --- Human reproduction --- Involuntary childlessness --- Sterility --- Sterility in humans --- Childlessness --- Generative organs --- Sterilization (Birth control) --- Social aspects. --- Diseases --- Life Sciences --- General and Others

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

In the first book to examine the industry of reproductive technology from the perspective of the consumer, Gay Becker scrutinizes the staggering array of medical options available to women and men with fertility problems and assesses the toll-both financial and emotional-that the quest for a biological child often exacts from would-be parents. Becker interviewed hundreds of people over a period of years; their stories are presented here in their own words. Absorbing, informative, and in many cases moving, these stories address deep-seated notions about gender, self-worth, and the cultural ideal of biological parenthood. Becker moves beyond people's personal experiences to examine contemporary meanings of technology and the role of consumption in modern life. What emerges is a clear view of technology as culture, with technology the template on which issues such as gender, nature, and the body are being rewritten and continuously altered. The Elusive Embryo chronicles the history and development of reproductive technology, and shows how global forces in consumer culture have contributed to the industry's growth. Becker examines how increasing use of reproductive technology has changed ideas about "natural" pregnancy and birth. Discussing topics such as in vitro fertilization, how men and women "naturalize" the use of a donor, and what happens when new reproductive technologies don't work, Becker shows how the experience of infertility has become increasingly politicized as potential parents confront the powerful forces that shape this industry. The Elusive Embryo is accessible, well written, and well documented. It will be an invaluable resource for people using or considering new reproductive technologies as well as for social scientists and health professionals.

Human reproductive technology --- Infertility --- Involuntary childlessness --- Sterility --- Sterility in humans --- Childlessness --- Generative organs --- Fertility, Human --- Sterilization (Birth control) --- Assisted conception --- Assisted human reproduction --- Assisted human reproductive technology --- Conception --- Human assisted reproduction --- Human assisted reproductive technology --- Human reproduction --- Medical technology --- Reproductive technology --- Patients --- Diseases --- Technological innovations --- biological parents. --- biology. --- birth parents. --- childbirth. --- conception. --- consumer culture. --- consumerism. --- cultural. --- embryo. --- emotional. --- feminism. --- fertility issues. --- fertility. --- finance. --- gender. --- global. --- in vitro fertilization. --- industry. --- international. --- medical. --- mental health. --- modern life. --- modern world. --- money problems. --- natural birth. --- parenting. --- pregnancy. --- reproduction. --- reproductive rights. --- reproductive technology. --- sexuality. --- social studies. --- technology. --- womens issues.