Contemporary Dutch policy and legislation on new reproductive technologies have shaped daily clinical practices. In recent years, policy has focused on providing accessible and high quality treatment to its citizens with fertility problems. This book places the patient-centred practices of a single clinic in a national context where ARTs are highly regulated ('Dutch IVF') and examines how this form of medicine co-shapes the experiences, views and decisions of the women and men using these technologies. To understand the use of medical technology in practice and the complexity of processes of medicalization, we need to go beyond 'easy assumptions' about the hegemony of biomedicine. Rather, this study argues that closer attention the multiple dynamics is required to fully understand these processes.
Recenzijas
The ethnographic perspective of the book offers a valuable insight into the limitations that patient-centred approaches offer to solving the issues of medicalization in the context of ART. What is more, the book provides a close look into the daily work of health care providers, which is extremely valuable as it offers a careful analysis of health care providers interactions with patients, including mundane details often left outside of the analytical gaze. Medicine Anthropology Theory
The social scientific study of reproduction is a growing field and scholars in that field will welcome a book on ART in the Dutch context as do a wide range of scholars and general readers interested in either feminism, gender, or health care. Physicians and other medical professionals will be interested in this work due to its clear implications for practice. Arthur L. Greil, Alfred University
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Medicalization and Persistence
Patient-Centred Medicine
Outline of the Book
Chapter
1. Studying ARTs: Theory, Context, the Clinic and Methods
Understanding the Use of ARTs
Dutch Context Families, Children and Childlessness
The Radboud Clinic
The Study
Chapter
2. Dutch IVF. Legislation, Guidelines and Health Insurances
Legislation and Guidelines
Health Insurance Coverage
Conclusion
Chapter
3. The Couples and their Quest for a Child
Social and Demographic Characteristics
Facing Fertility Problems: Diverse Points of Departure
Couples Quest for a Child: the Process
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Adoption as a Last Resort
Conclusion
Chapter
4. Daily Practices in the Patient-Centred Clinic
Interpersonal Aspects of Care
Privacy (or Not)
Abundant Information
Psycho-Social Support and Empathy
Decision Making Multiple Dynamics
Conclusion
Chapter
5. Information and Interpretation. Risks and Rates
IVF Success Rates: What Do They Tell Us?
Risks: Facts and Perceptions
Beyond Facts Uncertainty and Trust
Conclusion
Chapter
6. The Body and Visualizing Technologies
Gaining Insight in the Reproductive Body and its Flaws
Visualization of Reproduction through IVF
Case: Louises Diary
Trying Once More? Compelling Technology
Conclusion
Chapter
7. Gendered Suffering and Support
The Gendered and Unequal Burdens of IVF
Sharing the Grief of Loss after IVF
Essentializing Genetics and Gender Dynamics
Conclusion
Chapter
8. Bioethics in Practice
Multi-Disciplinary Ethics Meeting
Case: Woman Carrier of a Cancer Gene
Concerns in Context
Addressing Ethically Sensitive Requests
Conclusion
Chapter
9. Conclusion
Dutch IVF
Bioethics in Practice
Patient-Centred Practices
Gender Inequality and the Imperative of Genetics
Final Thoughts: Implications for the Field and Future Research
Appendices
Appendix I: Methods
Appendix II: Social and Demographic Background Data Of Study Participants
Appendix III: Patients or Couples Characteristics or Situations Leading to
Concerns among Clinic Staff and their Reasons for Withholding Treatment
Glossary
Reference list
Index
Trudie Gerrits is Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), Netherlands, where she is co-director of the Masters in Medical Anthropology and Sociology (MAS).
