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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Bharadwaj, Aditya Title: Conceptions : an exploration of infertility and assisted conception in India. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. Conceptions An Exploration of Infertility and Assisted Conception in India By Aditya Bharadwaj Department of Sociology University of Bristol Submitted June 2001 A Dissertation Submitted to the University of Bristol in Accordance with the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Sciences word count: 91082 D Abstract This thesis is an exploration of infertility and assisted conception in contemporary India. It explores some of the prominent themes underpinning the cultural engagement with ~ep~o~uctive disruption and seeks to understand how people - inflicted infertile IndIVIduals and treatment providers - grapple with conception gone-awry. In doing this, the research locates both clinical and non-clinical responses to the process of assisted conception, within the wider cultural context that views infertility as highly undesirable. Th~ research is multi-sited and attempts to connect a number of disparate domains in ~hIch the experience of infertility and the promotion and management of its treatment h~s dispersed. This has principally entailed an eclectic engagement with a number of dIverse 'locales,' such as the political economy of health in India, the mass media as a fiel~ .for promoting and contesting assisted conception, ancient norms and ideas about f~rtIhty and their reverberation in contemporary Hindu conceptual domain. The thesis hIgh!ights the importance of this cultural frame for producing stigma and as a 'sense makIng' resource for understanding assisted conception. Taken together, these locales unravel the complex nature of infertility and assisted conception in India. 11 Acknowledgements This thesis was written under very difficult personal circumstances and I am deeply indebted to a number of people who stood by me through this ordeal. I remain eternally indebted to my family; Ma, Bappi, Meenakshi, Dilip, Ratna, Sameer and my pride and joy Shivam, for their unconditional love and support. I would especially like to acknowledge Dilip and Meenakshi for bringing comfort and healing into my life, as well as Ratna and Sameer for giving me strength. I thank my research supervisor Jackie West for being there for me when all seemed lost! I also thank her for being a constant source of encouragement and unstinting guidance. I thank Theo Nichols for being a patient and understanding employer. I also wish to acknowledge the unflinching support and generosity of Harriet Bradley. I also thank Helen Ditchburn, Kerra and Maggie Studholme for their friendship and large heartedness. Thank you also to my colleagues and members of staff at the sociology department for thought provoking and stimulating conversations. A special word of thanks to my friends, in particular Geethi, San San, Gareth, Ester, Steve, Ranji, Nupur, Bally, Bani for their patience and friendship. Most of all I would like to acknowledge Sabina who has been my friend, philosopher and guide. An extra special word of thanks to the Tripathy and Vyasa families in Japiur and Bombay for welcoming me into their homes and for turning fieldwork into an enjoyable experience. Most importantly I am deeply indebted to the couples and clinicians who openly and generously shared their experiences with me. I would also like to thank Mama, Mami, Chacha, Chachi, Vikram, Rukma, Vikrant and Prashant. Thanks also to Anupam, my friend for life. I am also indebted to many more people who remain invisible here but have crucially touched my life. Last but not least, I thank my parents, to whom I also dedicate this thesis, for bringing me into this world and for filling my life with unadulterated love and care. III Author's Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of the University of Bristol. The work is original except where indicated by special reference in the text and no part of the dissertation has been submitted for any other degree. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University of Bristol. The dissertation has not been presented to any other University for examination either in the United Kingdom or overseas. Some of the material contained within this thesis has previously been published and is forthcoming in the following papers: How Some Indian Baby Makers are Made: Media Narratives and Assisted Conception in India, Anthropology and Medicine, 2000, Vol. 7, No.1, pp- 63 to 78. Conception Politics: Medical Egos, Media Spotlights, and the Contest over Test Tube Firsts in India, in Inhorn, M and Van Balen, F (eds.)., 2002. Interpreting Infertility: Childlessness, Gender and Reproductive Technologies in Global Perspective, Berkeley: University of California Press. SIGNED: DATE: A;. &/' ?/o;,- iv Contents Title Page .................................................................... " ........................i Abstract ...............................................................................................ii Acknowledgements ....................................................................... I ••••••••• iii Declaration .............. II •••• It ••••••• I •••••••• II. I ••••• I ••••• I ••••• I •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• iv Table of Contents ................. II ••••••••• t •••••• II ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 11.11. II' II' II. II ••••• v Part: 1 .................... It •••• It , •••• 1. I.' It. '" II •••••• I •••••• t •••• I •• tt ••••• It •••••••••••••••••••••• 1 Chapter: 1 Conceptions: Exploring Infertility and Assisted Conception in India: An Introduction .............................................................................................2 Nature/Culture in the Euro-American Worldview ................................................4 Infertility and Assisted Conception in a Global Perspective ................................... 16 Infertility and Assisted Conception in India: Some Preliminary Issues ..................... .19 Thesis Outline ........................................................................................25 Notes .................................................................................................. 30 Chapter: 2 Conceptualising Conceptions: A Methodological Note ........................................31 The Beginning ........................................................................................ 32 The Research ....................... , ......... ,., ...... ,., ............ , ............................... 33 The Present Study................................................................................... 37 The Data Sites ........................................................................................38 Encounters ofa Clinical Kind: Gaining Access and Other Adventure .. ................... .40 v Macro Encounters ....................................................................................41 Micro Encounters .. ..................................................................................43 Primary Interviews: Clinicians and Treatment Seekers ...................................... .45 'A Life in the Day ofa Clinic ': Participant Observation ....................................... 54 The Textual Sites: Documentary and Textual Sources ..........................................56 Conclusion ........... II •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 62 Notes ... I •••• II •••••••• II ••• II •••• II ••••••••• II ••••••••••••••• 1 ••••• 1 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 62 Part: 2 ................................................................................................ 64 Chapter: 3 Politics of Conception: State, Biomedicine, Infertility and Assisted Conception .......................... , .................................... I" •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 65 The Political Economy of Biomedical Development in India .................................67 State Policies and the Spread of Private Sector ..................................................71 Private Practice: Making it Work .................................................................77 Conclusion ..........................................................................................

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