Flesh & blood: reproductive loss as a site of theological imagination (or doing theology with blood in your knickers)

ABSTRACT

The experience of reproductive loss has long been shrouded in silences. Theological silence has been one among many. In this article, I examine what it might mean to take the embodied experience of miscarriage as a site for theological reimagining. What does theology look like from this perspective? This question lends itself to the growing body of contextual theologies that recognise there is no neutral space from which to do theology and offers a rich and complex kind of theological discourse. Grounded in embodied experience, recognition of liminality, and rejection of individualism, this paper demonstrates that the miscarrying body offers profound insights into theological discourse and presents an opportunity for deep reflection on the kinds of theologies our bodies are capable of imagining. From out of this theological reimaging, I offer some examples of spiritual practice, prayers, and liturgies for use by and with those who have experienced reproductive loss.

KEYWORDS:

• Body
• theology
• miscarriage
• spirituality

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 Indeed, if we understand the experience of pregnancy loss as a trauma experience, there can be no going back to the pre-traumatised state. Rather a remaking of the self is required (O'Donnell 2022, 44).

2 I specifically analyse doctrines of Providence in order to account for God’s involvement in biological processes. Concluding that God does not intervene in biological processes, I argue that prayers for miracles, in the situation of miscarriage, are not helpful.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Karen O’Donnell

Karen O’Donnell is the Director of Studies at Westcott House, Cambridge where she teaches liturgical and sacramental theologies. She is a feminist, constructive and practical theologian with particular interests in trauma and body theologies.