Collective Conference Reflections

Alongside the Conference Report, we’ve brought together some reflections by conference participants, on how the conference unfolded and what it’s meant for their work. Thanks to all who contributed!

Julianne Boutaleb

This conference was such an amazing manifestation of all the work done recently in so many diverse areas of scholarship around pregnancy endings. Apart from the rich content of all of the contributions from art, poetry and film through to the legal and clinical, I was also struck by the urgency of our endeavours too. To find the right words and processes for diverse reproductive loss experiences, and to ensure appropriate supports are available for those living through them. Listening to our Irish and US colleagues in particular, it was clear that whilst great progress can be made, we should never take reproductive agency for granted. I look forward to being involved further in future collaborative efforts, and salute you Vic and Susie for this remarkable achievement.

Kirsten Leng

This conference was, hands down, the most amazing scholarly conference I’ve attended. The conference organizers brought together a brilliant international collective of interdisciplinary researchers, activists, clinicians, and artists, all intent on exploring the full spectrum of reproductive experiences. It is still so incredibly rare to encounter scholars and practitioners invested in understanding pregnancy endings in all of their messy multiplicity. The assembled presenters demonstrated how, through literature, policy, art, film, health care (physical and mental), and performance, we can create new stories and experiences of pregnancy and its varied outcomes.

Julia Bueno

I left each day feeling nourished by the impressive scholarship and wide-ranging thoughts, but even more so by the warmth and open-hearted spirit of the group that Vic and Susie both curated and modelled. I am honoured to have been a part, and look forward to what comes next. We will continue with our quest!

Gayle Letherby

What a wonderful two days full of inspiring multi-disciplinary and multi-professional wisdom and creativity. The event was skillfully put together, and thoughtfully facilitated, by Victoria and Susie and the warmth and generosity of participants in sharing their knowledge, practice and personal experience was truly beautiful. An event to remember. 

Victoria Newton

This was such a unique conference, bringing together researchers from a wide range of backgrounds to focus on an important and timely topic. It was inspiring to hear about the breadth and depth of work being carried out on early pregnancy endings, and a pleasure to make new connections that could lead to future collaborations. A huge thank you to Susie and Victoria for organising such a thoughtful and energising event. I’m excited to see what the next steps will be. Let’s keep the conversation going.

Isabel Davis

My main reflections after this radically interdisciplinary and stimulating conference: 1) the importance and bravery of using and managing humour in the dissemination space. 2) Also, I was left thinking about the complex interaction of miscarriage and termination, including following a difficult pre-natal screening. Whilst people in this overlapping care space might be having the same treatment, in the same space, but need different languages, and have different expectations. 3) I felt anxious through the papers about how much research there is across so many disciplines - much of which I hadn’t but should have read - and wondered whether one potential communal output might be some kind of ‘map’ of the field  so that those coming after us could appreciate more quickly some of the precincts and approaches in which great work is being done. Although what exactly such a map could look like so that it didn’t go out of date, I don’t know. Thank you to Victoria and Susie for all their brilliant work, and thank you to everyone for their papers and questions.

Aimee Middlemiss

Enormous thanks to Victoria and Susie for putting this event together. Now it’s happened, I can’t really believe there was never an interdisciplinary miscarriage (and abortion / pregnancy endings) conference like this before - it’s an enormously generative space for so many disciplines and people. I was almost overwhelmed by the scale of the event and the number of people with shared interests to talk to and connect with. I especially loved the way the conference was two days and therefore we had time for informal connection, and we didn’t have to choose streams and miss out on hearing about people’s work. Hopefully this will generate future thinking for us all, and future relationships with one another - it would be great to keep in touch as a group, either through Isabel’s map idea above or another format, and to keep this welcoming and stimulating space open in future.

Sian Beynon-Jones

This conference made me realise that I don’t think I have ever been in a space where it was possible to have these kinds of conversations before, i.e. being able to think carefully and productively across pregnancy endings. There were so many valuable connections across all the talks, and I learned a lot from listening to work across disciplines (I love Isabel’s suggestion above of a map – this would be brilliant). I also keep thinking about the complete narrative failure to normalise toilets as sites of miscarriage in public discourse (and all the amazing work people are doing that is challenging this). Huge thanks to the organizers for creating this important space. Looking forward to continuing to work together, and to see what comes next.

Claire Flahavan

Thank you so much to Victoria and Susie for bringing together this wonderful conference. The thought and care invested in curating each panel of speakers was evident, and I loved that we could hear all of the presentations. This brought me in contact with disciplines and voices that I might otherwise have missed. We were offered a kaleidoscope of perspectives across both days, and each panel brought different viewpoints, expertise and rich contributions. Ambiguities, overlaps and tensions within the subject matter could co-exist and be held within the shared endeavour to think collectively about complex, difficult experiences in pregnancy. Informal conversations within the breaks were equally of value in fostering new relationships. I have come away with a reading list that will continue to nourish and inform my clinical work. Warm thanks to all. 

Jessa Fairbrother

A really fascinating orientation for me about the work that’s being done around the topic and I would echo Claire’s description above of it being a kaleidoscope. Thank you so much Victoria and Susie for making the space and time for such a wide range of scholarship to come together that was so well curated. As an onlooker, I was particularly interested to see how abortion rights intersect with miscarriage care. Julianne’s answer to my question about IVF was startling - (why no one asks if you have changed your mind - they know, but the drive is for a healthy outcome, tied to funding). That was stark and informative.

I have begun to crystallise my thinking that there is work to be done about the distinguishing feature of those who have miscarriages who do not go on to have children. This is my interest. It is different to the process of miscarriage in and of itself, as it is about those who go missing, the non-legible body afterwards that has crossed a threshold and cannot return.

I continue to wonder how artists responding is a distinct category that sits adjacent to other disciplines. Artists are often porous, their work being contingent on maintaining a porousness to exploring the ephemeral and the intangible. How can we help support those who are making work about that, next to clinicians and legal experts who deal with hard lines, definitions and definitives? I continue to ask this in all settings, as a practice-led researcher trying to find ways to articulate some of the existential feelings that underpin actions. I came away with some wonderful connections and notes and reading lists. I also loved the panel on Monday too, which brought some new ideas to my thinking about how we ‘story’, tell stories and share stories. Thank you all so much.

Paul Ord

It was a real privilege, as a developing researcher, to have the opportunity to present my ideas to such an expert and welcoming audience. And to receive encouraging feedback from Victoria Browne, Susie Kilshaw, Linda Layne, Aimee Middlemiss, and many others (all of whose work has been central to my PhD literature review), was wonderful. One further word I would use to describe the event is ‘warm’; there was a real generosity on display, I felt, in how papers were received and acknowledged across the different speaker's presentations. This is especially important for those of us who are very early on in their careers, and whose first ‘great idea’ is at a fragile stage of development. From a personal point of view, the conference was also wonderfully timed, falling as it did just before the commencement of my thesis writing proper. I’m sure my memories of the conference, and the friendly faces I met, will be a well-spring of inspiration as I tackle the task. Fantastic too to make contact with so many interesting people in person for the first time. Thank you everyone. 

Heini Väisänen

This was the best conference I have ever attended. In addition to the excellent academic quality, I was emotionally moved multiple times as people shared personal experiences of pregnancy endings. I loved how academic and artistic work were woven together. Not having strands was an excellent decision, as that created a shared understanding and a continuity throughout the conference. I hope there will be more events like this in the future!

Niamh Howard-Jones

Thank you so much to Susie and Victoria for organising such an inspiring conference. I gained so much from the fascinating presentations and the generosity of everyone who shared their work and own personal experiences. It was particularly meaningful to be in a space where all pregnancy endings were acknowledged with compassion and respect. The conference has given me new perspectives that will undoubtedly influence my clinical work going forward, and the connections I made with colleagues and researchers were invaluable. Thank you both again. I look forward to attending the next conference!