ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a critical feminist analysis of sonographically-diagnosed miscarriage, otherwise known as silent, missed or delayed miscarriage, using the author's experiential accounts as a catalyst to explore both academic and lay literatures surrounding pregnancy loss. Through an examination of scholarly and self-help writing on miscarriage the author's argue that pervasive heteronormativity doubly marginalises the experiences of lesbians and women otherwise located outside the realm of heterosexual relationships. Placing marginalised experience and non-normative groups of women more firmly within pregnancy loss scholarship promises to significantly augment critical, feminist and social scientific theorising. Silent miscarriage occurs when the foetus dies in utero and is discovered by ultrasound scan before the foetus is expelled. Lesbian motherhood is less common than heterosexual motherhood, and lesbian routes to conception are by definition non-hetero normative. Professionals should demonstrate awareness and sensitivity to women's relational contexts and ensure, in the case of lesbian couples, that partners are acknowledged and actively included in consultations.
