Please join us for the next seminar in the ANU Sociology Seminar Series, "Situating Unborn Life in Miscarriage: Women’s Accounts of Pregnancy Loss and Care in Taiwan" by Associate Professor Li-Wen Shih (Taipei Medical University)

Date: Monday 19 Octob er, 2026
Time: 12 – 1pm (AEST)
Location: RSSS Room 4.69, and Zoom (register to receive Zoom link)

Situating Unborn Life in Miscarriage: Women’s Accounts of Pregnancy Loss and Care in Taiwan

Miscarriage, referred to as “hsiao-chan” (小產, literally means small birth) in Taiwan, occupies a liminal space: it is neither a birth of a living child nor the absence of conception. The earthly remnants of the embryo/foetus also occupy this liminal space. They are neither "bodily waste" nor the body of a child who has passed away. In the medical context, those remnants may be treated as valuable objects of genetic screening or as the objects of “failure” and mere medical waste. At times, the foetus is not a formed human child and perhaps lacks a detectable heartbeat. This ontological and epistemological ambiguity complicates our understanding and the ways we care for the objects of miscarriage and those who miscarried. The most challenging aspect of reframing care is not simply identifying the appropriate words to use but grappling with the limitations of language itself. Based on ethnographic works, including 67 interviews with Taiwanese women who have experienced miscarriage and 61 drawings depicting their miscarriage experience, in this talk it will explore women’s accounts of their relations to the miscarried embryo, foetus, or blood and tissue discharged from their own bodies

About the speaker:

Li-Wen Shih is a sociologist and feminist STS scholar. Her research focuses on reproduction, exploring the fluidity of bodies, reproductive technologies, and care practices in Taiwan and Denmark. She is also a founding member of the Birth Empowerment Alliance of Taiwan, where she is dedicated to promoting care-ful reproductive care.

Contact the host of ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series: A/Prof Li-Wen Shih (Taipei Medical University)