Between Womb and Home: Representational Precarity in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

• In Event: Reproductive Precarity in Social Context

Abstract

NICUs have proliferated in the U.S., as hospitals have expanded their reach and services. There are several reasons NICUs have grown, not least of which concerns the often grave circumstances of premature birth. While there are many reasons for premature birth, according to the Centers for Disease Control, one of the main risk factors is being of the "Black Race." Yet most advertisements tend to show white infants. Drawing from Duden's discussion of "optical prejudice" in the representation of fetal illustrations, this paper analyzes NICUs in terms of race, perfectibility, and familial constructions.

Presenter

• Dana M. Davis, City University of New York, Queens College