Miscarriage Care Practices in Taiwan: Three Reproductive Apparatuses

Existing sociological studies of miscarriage, typically undertaken in Euro-American contexts, describe its ambiguous and uncertain character, arguing that pregnancy loss puts both pregnant people and foetuses into a liminal position. Based on 28 interviews and 24 participant drawings, this paper contributes to and challenges this literature by focusing on pregnancy loss in Taiwan. Our analysis reveals three reproductive apparatuses addressing miscarriage: biomedicine, Taiwanese Chinese medicine (TCM) and folk healthcare. We show that although biomedicine is the dominant apparatus, many Taiwanese who have experienced miscarriage also visit TCM clinics and engage in folk healthcare practices, even when they do not necessarily 'believe' in these. We argue that both TCM and folk healthcare blame women for miscarriage, whereas biomedicine fails to acknowledge the emotional significance of this experience. Viewed together, the three reproductive apparatuses reflect both the ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding miscarriage and women's complex labour in negotiating multiple understandings of pregnancy loss. Such specificities notwithstanding, our argument highlights the importance of attending to the practices, thoughts and feelings-both within and outside biomedicine-of those experiencing pregnancy loss in trying to sociologically understand this common, often devastating, experience.