Join the Center for Advanced Study Food for Thought series on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 12 Noon - 12:45 PM at the Levis Faculty Center Room 210 for a talk by Illinois Anthropology faculty Dr. Kathryn Clancy entitled 'Pregnancy, Interrupted: The New Science of Miscarriage'.
Abstract: Most of the process of getting pregnant involves not getting pregnant, or getting un-pregnant. Uteruses did not evolve to make baby after baby: they evolved to practice and fail, many times over, through menstruation and pregnancy loss spanning one’s entire reproductive years. Of all outcomes, a baby is the least likely, yet most expected: the least supported, yet most demanded. In a culture of compulsory motherhood, it is important to understand that getting pregnant may be simple, but it is not easy.