IVF and Assisted Reproduction: A Global History

by Sarah Ferber, Nicola J. Marks, Vera Mackie

Overview

This is the first transnational history of IVF and assisted reproduction. It is a key text for scholars and students in social science, history, science and technology studies (STS), cultural studies, and gender and sexuality studies, and a resource for journalists, policymakers, and anyone interested in assisted reproduction. IVF was seen as revolutionary in 1978 when the first two IVF babies were born, in the UK and India. Assisted reproduction has now contributed to the birth of around ten million people. The book traces the work of IVF teams as they developed new techniques and laid the foundations of a multi-billion-dollar industry. It analyses the changing definitions and experience of infertility, the markets for eggs and children through surrogacy, cross-border reproductive treatment, and the impact of regulation. Using interviews with leading IVF figures, archives, media reports, and the latest science, it is a vital addition to the field of reproduction studies.

‘This pathbreaking account of the global forces behind the rapid rise of the fertility industry is the first to offer such a truly comprehensive overview of this hugely important topic.’

—Sarah Franklin, Chair of Sociology, University of Cambridge

‘In this compelling overview of one of the most significant technological and social interventions ever developed, the cultural and scientific imaginaries of assisted reproduction meet the obdurate histories of laboratory experiments, biological materials, and personal quests. It is an indispensable read for anyone interested in IVF and assisted reproduction.’

—Andrea Whittaker, Professor of Anthropology, Monash University

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789811578946
Publisher:	Springer Nature Singapore
Publication date:	12/18/2020
Edition description:	1st ed. 2020
Pages:	361
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sarah Ferber is Professor of History at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Her books include: Bioethics in Historical Perspective (2013), and the co-edited The Reproductive Industry: Intimate Experiences and Global Processes (2019), and The Body Divided: Human Beings and Human ‘Material’ in Modern Medical History (2011).

Nicola J. Marks is Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong. She researches the social dimensions of science and medicine, including stem cell research and IVF, and is co-editor of The Reproductive Industry: Intimate Experiences and Global Processes (2019).

Vera Mackie is Senior Professor of Asian and International Studies at the University of Wollongong. She is co-author of Remembering Women’s Activism (2019), co-editor of The Reproductive Industry: Intimate Experiences and Global Processes (2019), and The Social Sciences in the Asian Century (2015).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: towards a global history of IVF and ARTs
2. Historical prelude: 20th-century reproductive science to 1978
3. The global dynamics of assisted reproduction, 1978-2018
4. Risk, regulation, and the baby business
5. 21st-century newsmakers

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This pathbreaking account of the global forces behind the rapid rise of the fertility industry is the first to offer such a truly comprehensive overview of this hugely important topic.” (Sarah Franklin, Chair of Sociology, University of Cambridge)

“In this compelling overview of one of the most significant technological and social interventions ever developed, the cultural and scientific imaginaries of assisted reproduction meet the obdurate histories of laboratory experiments, biological materials, and personal quests. It is an indispensable read for anyone interested in IVF and assisted reproduction.” (Andrea Whittaker, Professor of Anthropology, Monash University)

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Alain Touwaide, PhD (Ronin Institute)
Description: In vitro fertilization (IVF) might be one of the most recent historical topics of history of medicine. IVF became a reality in 1978, with two births that year in the U.K. and India as a result of IVF techniques. This book presents the whole story, from the first trials to the current thinking about IVF, including bio-ethical concerns.
Purpose: The history presented in this book is not a narrative of medical techniques, but rather a history of the individuals, groups, and nations who used IVF. By taking this viewpoint, it is a history of societies, societal concerns, and societal impact. Viewed in this way, it is a complement to the histories in the making about the diversified histories of the search for IVF, with their national differences, successes, and shortcomings, resulting in the two 1978 births in the U.K. and India, which left the U.S. and Australia behind at that time.
Audience: Although this is a book about a very personal choice (using the IVF technique), this is not a work for individuals who might consider using the IVF technique at a certain point in their life. It is rather a document for any reader interested in better understanding the process, not its technical aspects, but all its environment and other components, including religion, regulation, "right and wrong," or "risk management." Viewed in this way, it is a study for whomever is interested in better understanding a medical question that might be deeply misunderstood. The readership is as vast as intellectual interest in present-day human issues and, more profoundly, human empathy might be.
Features: In seven well-rounded chapters of similar length, the book covers all the history of IVF, which is in fact a journey from the search for efficacious medical techniques sometimes going to the extreme, to a new approach to generation creating and being part of history. It is, in effect, a human history that has spontaneously defined its boundaries and meaning when confronted with apparently limitless technical advancements. This approach has been possible thanks to the use of archival material, interviews, and other material available on the internet or other vehicles, without limiting the work to scientific literature. All this primary material is abundantly referred to in the notes, which unfortunately are endnotes that require constantly navigating the book and possibly lead to missing relevant information, testimony, or witness.
Assessment: This is a human book about an extremely personal topic - a book that brings the most intimate issue of generation back to what it is, even though the very technique of IVF might have sometimes transferred this topic to the stage and the creation process, society, and the media. It is a simple and courageous book that is most welcome, but might miss its audience if it remains in the circle of the history of medicine.

Doody's Review Service

Both books achieve their aims well. … these two books serve well in providing insight into AR practice world-wide … . Both books offer much of interest and value to those with an interest in this domain: AR practitioners, regulators and policy makers, students and researchers, and general readers seeking to understand the growth, complexity, and impact of the world-wide AR industry.” (Ian Smith, Australian Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 23 (2), 2022)

“It is this emphasis on the social, cultural and political – as well as the medical and scientific– that sets this book apart from standard medical histories. … This will be an indispensable reference work for historians of AR, as it maps out the research, clinical, regulatory and societal paths – including dead ends – towards the point we are at now and poses important questions for how we can understand the opportunities and risks AR poses into the future.” (Sianan Healy, History Australia, Vol. 19 (1), 2022)

“Each of the seven chapters has a rich section of references and notes that are very much worth looking at in detail. ... The book can be of interest to a wide audience. ... information useful to those who are new to the field of reproduction studies and also to those more established. ... Here the reader will find an extensive list of scholarly literature … . It also works as a case study book.” (Sandra Patricia Gonzalez Santos, Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online, Vol. 14, March, 2022)

“IVF and Assisted Reproduction: A Global History manages to give voice to the complexity and depth of its subject area while also providing a sense of the global and national contexts … . Ferber, Marks and Mackie have provided an impressive overview of the history of IVF and assisted reproduction that is readable and empirically detailed. Their book provides the reader with a broad familiarity with the multiple global forces that have driven the continual development of these technologies.” (Erica Millar, Australian Historical Studies, January 24, 2022)

“Commanding an enormous literature in a relatively short book, they give a sober-minded and clearly written overview of the techno-scientific, medical, political, cultural, and economic history … . the book’s clear and balanced exposition, divided with helpful section headers, makes it a pleasant and engaging read. It should be especially useful to historians of technology who are unfamiliar with IVF or its global context, and could work well in conjunction with narrative history/anthropology or primary sources for undergraduate instruction.” (Lara Freidenfelds, Technology and Culture, Vol. 63 (1), January, 2022)

“The book is well structured, informative, blending local analysis with local storytelling. … As a scholar with an interest in AR, I enjoyed reading the book. I have learned new facts … . As a result of this reading, my understanding of AR’s history is now grounded on more data and well-rounded … . The book can be an assigned reading to teach advanced undergraduate seminars or graduate classes on AR’s social and political aspects … .” (Andrea Boggio, Monash Bioethics Review, Vol. 39, 2021)

From the Publisher