Popular culture tells us many things about Americans. We watch stories of made-up families and binge shows that fictionalize real-life […]
“Discharged Well”: or, How I Learned to Feel in the Archive
This story begins in the fall of 2007. I was on my first research trip to look through various records […]
An Untold Story: Black Maternal Mortality in the United States
In April 2016, Kira Johnson, 39, and her husband were excited to bring their second child into the world. After […]
Seeing Pregnant People: History, Empathy, and Reproductive Politics
On November 22, 1863, New Yorker Charles F. Robertson testified in a deposition that, “About two months ago [his wife […]
Surrender, Discovery, and Recovery: The Many Meanings of Adoption
To write about mid-twentieth century adoption practices in the United States is to position oneself at the heart of dozens […]
Pregnancy and Miscarriage on Social Media: New Metaphors to Make Miscarriages Easier to Talk About, and Easier to Bear
For someone who has been trying for a pregnancy, it is naturally tempting to want to share the exciting and […]
Motherhood, Undone: A Review of Belabored: A Vindication of the Rights of Pregnant Women by Lyz Lenz
One evening in early April, after yet another day of sending my toddler daughter to “Frozen school” while I attempted […]
Talking Back to the NIH
In January 2018, Serena Williams went public about how she almost died after giving birth to her daughter. Williams has […]
What to Expect When You’re Expiring: Pregnancy and Death in Seventeenth-Century England
On October 12, 1622, a 26-year-old English woman named Elizabeth Jocelin gave birth to her first child, a baby girl. […]
¡Escúchanos! Immigration and Reproductive Politics
Two years ago, the case of a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant catalyzed the creation of a class action suit from the […]
