This book examines the representation of infertility, assisted reproduction, miscarriage, adoption and surrogacy in a wide range of media, including blogs, vlogs, social media posts and factual programming. In so doing, it illustrates how pregnancy loss, involuntary childlessness and non-traditional mothering are being depicted across the media landscape. Whilst the topic of motherhood has emerged as a significant area of academic debate, narratives of unsuccessful or unconventional mothering have remained largely absent, even at a time when there is a growing conversation about infertility online. Timely, pertinent and original, the book demonstrates the importance of a broader and more informed cultural discussion about fertility and family building.

Rebecca Feasey is Senior Lecturer in Film and Media Communications at Bath Spa University, UK. She is the author of Mothers on Mothers: Maternal Readings of Popular Culture (2016), From Happy Homemaker to Desperate Housewives: Motherhood and Popular Television (2012) and Masculinity and Popular Television (2008).

1. Introduction: infertility and non-traditional family building.-2. Infertility: private confessions in a public arena.-3. Assisted reproduction: family, fortunes and fertility clinics.-4. Pregnancy loss: shame and silence over a shared experience.-5. Adoption: eligibility, assessment and selection.-6. Conclusion: future research directions.