Includes bibliographical references and index.

"This book explores the imagined and instrumental significance of motherhood, fertility and family in social and political life in contemporary Ireland. In the climate of change shaped in part by Ireland s economic and political place in Europe, values, norms and ideals are challenged and re-defined as people navigate new social terrain for many institutions, including the family. Infertility stories show us how the once seamless connection between marriage, motherhood, sex and procreation is contested. Through the stories of women and men facing infertility, the book brings to life the forces that shape the idea of motherhood in Ireland and the way many women see themselves, not as victims of circumstance, but as agents and beneficiaries of changing social values and expectations. " - Book cover