An IVF survivor unravels ‘fertility’ industry narratives

ABSTRACT

IVF survivorship is a novel concept in the field of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and their attendant autoethnographies. It also disputes the ART industry’s preferred narratives of ‘curing’ infertility and ‘delivering on baby dreams’, ideas that play well in cultures that celebrate parenting. The ART industry was able to expand with impunity for decades by downplaying and silencing patient-consumers’ damaged corporealities and trauma. Moreover, stigma and suffering associated with failed procedures stopped most former patient-consumers from organising for greater consumer protections and industry reforms. Survivorship not only undermines the industry’s saccharine themes; it concentrates unwanted visibility on ART treatment failures. Through a lens of survivorship, this article illuminates, analyzes and critiques market realities. It also explores harmful industry activities such as: misleading advertising; promoting new ART procedures without sound evidence; avoiding longitudinal health studies; dismissing patient-consumer emotional distress; and abandoning those who do not serve the industry’s narrative.

KEYWORDS:

• Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs)
• geneticised markets
• fertility marketing ethics
• trauma
• IVF survivorship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos

Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos investigates the assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) quagmire patient-consumers experience in a pro-natal world. She is the author of Silent Sorority (BookSurge 2009) and numerous articles in international media and academic publications. Her work illuminates long-hidden personal traumas caused by ARTs failures, ARTs practice deficiencies and the challenges of IVF survivorship.