Sarah Franklin is the Chair of Sociology and Director of the Reproductive Sociology Research Group (ReproSoc) at the University of Cambridge, where she is also a Fellow of Christ's College.

This new edition of Sarah Franklin's classic monograph on the development of IVF includes two entirely new chapters reflecting on the relevance of the book's findings in the context of the past two decades and providing a 'state of the art' review of the field today

Introduction to the 1st edition. Introduction to the second edition. 1.Conception among the anthropologists. 2.Contested conceptions in the enterprise culture. 3.The 'obstacle course': the reproductive work of IVF. 4.'It just takes over': IVF as a 'way of life'. 5.Hhaving to try 'and 'having to choose': how IVF 'makes sense'. 6.The embodiment of progress. Afterword