“He looks gorgeous” – iuMR images and the transforming of foetal and parental identities

Abstract

The MERIDIAN study examined whether in-utero MRI (iuMRI) improves the accuracy of diagnosis of foetal brain abnormalities, when used as an adjunct to ultrasound anomaly scanning. A diagnostic iuMRI differs from routine ultrasound screening because of its infrequent use and scanning procedure. Nested within this trial, this sociological study explored the acceptability of iuMRI as a technology and its contribution to parental decision-making. Our sociological interpretation of the role of iuMR images in prenatal diagnosis draws on narrative interviews with women (and some partners) who underwent MRI imaging at three different centres. Overall, participants found iuMRI helpful in decision-making because it either confirmed or disconfirmed previous results, or provided additional information. Expectant couples experienced the iuMR imaging process as informative, but also as having emotive and practical value. Our paper extends the existing sociological literature on antenatal testing and visualising the foetus, by using iuMR diagnostic imaging to further explore the concept of the unborn entity. Our data suggest that alongside the iuMR images, the 'parental gaze' and accompanying commentary are used by parents to construct and transform foetal and parental identities despite ongoing uncertainties about, and shifting social contexts to their pregnancy.

Invisible Labours

“…This, I argue, was partly a check on material reality in the context of ontological disruption, a way of anchoring their experiences in a material reality evidenced by their own sensory reaction to the foetal body, rather than, as has been argued in other contexts, simply a naturalised version of the maternal gaze (Mitchell 2016). There is a connection with research into narrations of the foetal body in foetal imaging, where the normative formation of foetal bodies can personify the foetal being (Nishizaka 2014, Lie et al 2019.…”

The influence of antenatal imaging on prenatal bonding in uncomplicated pregnancies: a mixed methods analysis

“…Although the images produced are considered higher quality because they are not affected by the previously described limitations associated with ultrasound, it is unlikely that it will replace it due to increased financial cost and limited availability of specialist fetal MR imaging services [ 16 ]. This means that many studies reporting expectant parents’ experiences and perceptions of MRI are set in the context of a prenatal diagnosis where increased parental anxiety and distress may be a moderator of bonding [ 4 , 18 ]. They are also retrospective, therefore many variables or confounding factors are missing, or cannot be controlled for.…”