Misconception: Social Class and Infertility in America

Families in Focus

by Ann V. Bell

Despite the fact that, statistically, women of low socioeconomic status (SES) experience greater difficulty conceiving children, infertility is generally understood to be a wealthy, white woman’s issue. In Misconception , Ann V. Bell overturns such historically ingrained notions of infertility by examining the experiences of poor women and women of color. These women, so the stereotype would have it, are simply too fertile. The fertility of affluent and of poor women is perceived differently, and these perceptions have political and social consequences, as social policies have entrenched these ideas throughout U.S. history. 
 

Through fifty-eight in-depth interviews with women of both high and low SES, Bell begins to break down the stereotypes of infertility and show how such depictions consequently shape women’s infertility experiences. Prior studies have relied solely on participants recruited from medical clinics—a sampling process that inherently skews the participant base toward wealthier white women with health insurance. 

 

In comparing class experiences,  Misconception  goes beyond examining medical experiences of infertility to expose the often overlooked economic and classist underpinnings of reproduction, family, motherhood, and health in contemporary America. 

 

Watch a video with Ann V. Bell:

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

Reviews

[Steve Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel that this book offered a different perspective on infertility that I can appreciate, however, there seemed to be a bias against those seeking fertility treatments compared to those that didn’t. I agree there needs to be more access, but can also understand the complexities of historical trauma on minorities when it comes to our nation’s medical system. Don’t agree with everything she writes, but definitely made me think.