About this Event
Reproductive failure is often understood as loss, absence or an unsuccessful outcome. Yet in some contexts, failure is also associated with persistence, adaptation and the need to "try again".
From miscarriage and infertility to failed pollination, population decline and species survival, reproductive failure takes many forms and meanings. What counts as failure, and who gets to define it?
By bringing together biological, social, historical, legal, demographic and environmental perspectives, this Forum explores how reframing reproductive failure might change the questions we ask, the responses we develop, and the reproductive realities we seek to understand.
Confirmed speakers include
- Professor Bassel Al Wattar – reproductive medicine and surgery
- Professor Sarah Franklin – reproductive sociology and reproductive technologies
- Professor Nick Hopwood – history of reproduction, embryology and medicine
- Professor Sarah Lloyd-Fox – child development, families and the perinatal period
- Dr Rashmi Patel – mental health and perinatal psychiatry
- Professor Alice Reid – demography and population studies
- Rebecca Siddall – reproductive rights, media and reproductive justice
- Dr Desislava Staneva – developmental biology and early human development
The Forum will include three interdisciplinary sessions
Session 1:
Who gets to define reproductive success and failure? And for what purpose?
Session 2:
The Emotional Lives of Reproduction: Hope, blame, responsibility and resilience across generations
Session 3:
How can reproductive failure be reframed or inhabited productively?
Following the talks we will be hosting a drinks and nibbles reception. A chance to network with colleagues and find out more about Cambridge Reproduction.
All Cambridge based researchers with an interest in the field of reproduction, whatever your discipline, are welcome.
Event venue & nearby stays
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.