Surrogate Motherhood: Conception In The Heart (Institutional Structures of Feeling) [Paperback]

Helena Ragone (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 081331979X | ISBN-13: 978-0813319797 | Publication Date: May 16, 1994

Ever since the Baby M case, the public has been fascinated with the continuing phenomenon of surrogate motherhood. The Baby M case raised, and left unanswered, many questions about what constitutes motherhood, fatherhood, family, reproduction, and kinship. What do the surrogates, commissioning couples, program directors, and attending professionals think and feel about surrogacy? How and when are the children told of their birth origins? How do surrogate mother programs select a surrogate? What psychological tests are administered? Surrogate Motherhood: Conception in the Heart examines the phenomenon of surrogate motherhood in depth, through the unique perspective of a cultural anthropologist, providing us with answers to these and other questions in a richly textured ethnography. Included in the book are actual surrogate and couple evaluation forms completed by clinical psychologists, confidential surrogate mother information sheets, and the legal contract used by one of the programs.To date, thousands of surrogate-assisted births have taken place, but never before have the experiences of the participants and program staff been explored in such detail. Participants who have never before spoken publicly about their involvement in surrogacy here speak out, and their statements are startling and intriguing. Surrogate mothers and commissioning couples who have suffered the pain of infertility open up their hearts to illuminate the compelling world of surrogacy in which many of our assumptions about nurturance, family, and kinship are reconfigured. The following quotes from surrogates, a father, and an adoptive mother speak to the richness of this text.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Of all the reproductive techniques available today, surrogate motherhood is possibly the most controversial and least understood option. Although thousands of surrogate-assisted births have taken place, perceptions about surrogacy have been colored by the media and ongoing legal and ethical debates. Here, cultural anthropologist Ragone sets controversy aside to present the world of surrogacy as perceived and described by those most intimately involved in it, from program directors and their staffs to the surrogate mothers and the couples who have contracted with them. Based on extensive interviews as well as the latest theoretical research, this unique study is always frank and compelling while avoiding judgments and sensationalism. It should be of interest to anyone interested in the phenomena of surrogacy, from researchers to prospective surrogate mothers and commissioning couples. Highly recommended. [For another look at this subject, see Ruth Macklin's Surrogates and Other Mothers, reviewed above.-Ed.]-Linda Cullum, Lake Superior State Univ. Lib., Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
--Linda Cullum, Lake Superior State Univ. Lib., Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Helena Ragoné teaches anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is the coeditor of Situated Lives: Gender and Culture in Everyday Life and Reproducing Reproduction: Kinship, Power, and Technological Innovation. She is currently writing Distant Kin, on gestational surrogacy and ovum donation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press (May 16, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081331979X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813319797
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #644,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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