When people picture pregnancy, they often imagine a fairly predictable sequence of events: a positive test, a first ultrasound, a growing bump and, eventually, a baby. But according to anthropologist Kate Clancy, that narrative leaves out a reality that has shaped human reproduction for millennia. In her new book, Pregnancy Interrupted: The Science and Stories of How Pregnancies Really End, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor argues that pregnancy loss may in fact be the most common outcome.
"The biggest issue is that we frame [a full-term pregnancy] as the normative experience," Clancy told Newsweek. "And that anything that doesn't follow that is the deviation." Instead, she believes a more productive way to think about pregnancy is to understand that losses at various stages are not exceptions to the rule but part of how human reproduction often works. The book explores pregnancy as a complex biological process involving a series of developmental checkpoints.
Before a pregnancy can progress, eggs, embryos and the reproductive system must repeatedly pass what Clancy describes as tests of viability. Those tests begin long before most people realize they are pregnant. Most of them are garbage.” Even after fertilization, many embryos never continue developing.
Some fail shortly after implantation. Others stop developing weeks later because of chromosomal abnormalities or other biological factors. For Clancy, one of the most surprising discoveries during the research process was learning how resilient embryos can be.
Scientists have found that some embryos can effectively "self-correct" genetic mistakes during early development. Cells carrying chromosomal errors may be pushed into tissue that later becomes the placenta, while healthier cells continue developing into the fetus. Many people who experience miscarriage blame themselves, even when science suggests they shouldn't.
Clancy said one of her goals was to help readers understand how little control individuals often have over pregnancy loss. Clancy points to infectious diseases, environmental pollutants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and experiences such as intimate partner violence as examples of factors associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. What kind of regulations do we have to keep endocrine-disrupting chemicals out of our food?
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