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Book Review: Inconceivable Conceptions. Psychological Aspects of Infertility and Reproductive Technology

As a mother and analyst I thought I was in tune with what it must be like to be childless, but of course this is an arrogant position and I realize now how little I know. This book has opened my eyes to the complexity and depths that are encountered by both the body and the mind around ‘inconceivable conceptions’. This eye-opening is wholly due to the very interesting, painful and powerful communication of the authors of this book. Each chapter contains a different and thoughtful addition to the knowledge of infertility and everyone in the helping professions will be grateful to the editors for their creativity in combining the personal, sociological, anthropological, psychological and the medical. We are constantly reminded of the painful and lengthy extremes that are endured in order to conceive. Apparently the reason for the recent increase in infertility clinics arises from the demand of older women. It seems so unfair that as women choose to explore the world of education and work and indeed have proved their success in these areas, the chances of infertility increase. The view of most consultants is that ‘the best results are achieved by letting patients tell their own story and relate their own feelings’. The writer Hilary Mantel gives a very powerful and heartbreaking personal account of her own infertility. To incorporate the personal certainly brings the subject alive in a way that enables a strong empathy with the suffering of those whose lives have been blighted by their infertility. The analytical writers (Raphael-Leff, Miller and Christie and Morgan) all stress the importance of the containment of destructive forces. It seems that if there is a strong idealization of the pregnancy and the unborn child, together with denied split-off destructive impulses, this split could affect conception. Raphael-Leff works with fantasies to see how the new reproductive technology moves us into new areas of emotional understanding. Juliet Miller, a Jungian analyst, draws attention to the capacity to mourn. The obsessional behaviour of the childless couple in searching for a medical solution means that mourning cannot take place. Any suggestion that there might be other ways of looking at this deathly state can be experienced as an unbearable wound. There is no one to mourn and so destructive hateful feelings can so easily be projected on the partners, doctors or the world. Although the loss and grief continue maybe for life, a great deal seems to depend on whether or not the loss can be mourned as to whether creativity can be found in other areas. Christie and Morgan work both individually and with groups in the area of infertility. Their research was fascinating, particularly their findings showing how