Pregnancy presents some interesting challenges for the philosophy of embodied cognition. Mother and fetus are generally considered to be passive during pregnancy, both individually and in their relation. In this paper, we use the enactive operational concepts of autonomy, agency, individuation, and participation to examine the relation between mother and fetus in utero. Based on biological, physiological, and phenomenological research, we explore the emergence of agentive capacities in embryo and fetus, as well as how maternal agency changes as pregnancy advances. We show that qualitatively different kinds of agency have their beginnings already in utero, and to what extent fetal and maternal movement modulate affectivity and individuation in pregnancy. We thus propose that mother and fetus are both agents who participate in pregnancy. Pregnancy then emerges as a relational developmental organization that anchors and holds its developing participants. We end the paper with reflections on ethical implications of this proposal, and suggestions for future research.

En los últimos años, la izquierda y el feminismo a nivel mundial han girado hacia la noción de lo común como clave fundamental para construir un mundo posible en clave distinta al capitalismo. Este ensayo tiene la intención de pensar la construcción del común a partir del ecofeminismo, el ciberfeminismo y la economía feminista, pues las múltiples líneas de las teorías y prácticas feministas, proporcionan nuevos elementos a los conceptos de común y procomún.