ABSTRACT
Dominant biomedical embryological notions trace the development of a fertilized ovum into an embryo and, eventually, a foetus that is believed to be viable at a specific gestational age. This time-based rationale also underlies biomedical definitions of different forms of loss during pregnancy. Stillbirths during late pregnancy the exact starting point of which varies again between different national frameworks form, together with deaths at birth and in the first week afterwards, perinatal deaths. International programs aiming to reduce the risks of miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity and infant mortality during women's risky reproductive careers all build upon the biomedically-defined successive stages of pregnancy and loss. This chapter explores how women of the local Gbigbil community think and talk about different forms of reproductive loss and how these ideas relate to biomedical time-based distinctions. By focusing on cultural constructs of foetal development and maternal health in this particular locale, where pregnancy losses and maternal deaths abound.
