Baby's First Picture: Ultrasound and the Politics of Fetal Subjects

Monika Rohlmann is an environmental consultant in Victoria, B.C.

Lisa Mitchell is an associate professor of anthropology at the
University of Victoria and a mother. In the eight chapters of Baby’s
First Picture, Mitchell covers the evolution of ultrasound as well as
its use and application in prenatal care; looks at the political and
social perspectives of fetal imaging in Canada and other countries; and
offers firsthand accounts of women’s interaction and interpretations
of fetal monitoring. The final chapter focuses on the need for other
ways of informing women and physicians about fetal health.

Most pregnant women in Canada have at some point during their pregnancy
viewed the blurred picture of a fetal ultrasound image. We routinely do
so without questioning the safety of the procedure, its usefulness to
fetal health, the implications for family planning, or the political and
social context in which we interpret and personify the fetus. The use of
ultrasound has been the most important tool to giving the fetus
personhood. It is used to coerce mothers into proper care of their
pregnant bodies, to sway public opinion in the ongoing abortion debate,
and to give physicians a perceived level of professionalism and control
over the fetal subject.

Mitchell has written an important book on an otherwise neglected
subject. As a reworking of the author’s doctoral thesis, the book is a
scholarly work but reads easily enough for anyone interested in fetal
ultrasound. Just as ultrasounds were hailed as revolutionary in putting
a light into the “black box” of the uterus, Mitchell’s book opens
the box to public discussion about fetal imaging.