Effect of Assisted Reproductive Technologies on the Body Consciousness of Patients

Abstract

Assisted reproductive technologies(ART) take a serious physical toll on patients. However, only a few studies have investigated the influence of these technologies on the body consciousness of the patients. Patients' body consciousness while receiving infertility treatment using ART was investigated. Interviews with nine patients revealed three types of body consciousness: 'biomedical-scientific', 'subjective-sensory' and 'naive-folkloric.' There were interactions such as 'cooperation', 'contradiction' and 'conflict' between 'biomedical-scientific' and 'subjectivesensory' body consciousness. These interactions apparently directed the patients' attitudes towards treatment: to 'move forward', just to 'continue', or to 'question' the meaning of the treatments. It was also found that the 'naivefolkloric' body consciousness takes the role of maintaining the mystery of life, which tends to be ignored during medical treatment. It is concluded that this type of consciousness is necessary to reconfirm the social meaning of reproduction.