Authors

Shahnoza Nozimova¹;  ¹ University of Oxford, UK

Discussion

Involuntary childlessness and infertility are critical problems in Central Asia. The normative discourses around the traditional and family values emanating from the national governments, prominent religious authorities, and broader societal practices result in an immense expectation of procreation and child-bearing. Employing the reproductive mobilities framework, this paper argues that in Central Asia, as elsewhere around the globe, the contemporary discourses, imaginaries, and itineraries of reproductive care are intimately entangled with the complex patterns of mobilities, including human, information, and capital, within and across the borders.  

Based on ethnographic research and interviews conducted in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, this paper offers insights gleaned from conversations with medical practitioners and families/individuals undertaking (or have previously undertaken) various forms of fertility care, including Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). In particular, this paper articulates that migration and mobility are inherent elements of the discourse on reproduction – they are viewed as contributing, mitigating, and coordinating factors in the context of infertility care. The specific realities of labour migration of Central Asians to Russia are deemed to be adverse contributors to rising infertility rates due to resulting prolonged family separation, inaccessibility of medical care in the host community, and exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Similarly, the cross-border movement of people, ideas, and finances is the factor that helps imagine the possibility of reproduction, research different forms of treatments, and privately fund the costly itineraries of care in the absence of subsidised fertility programs. Moreover, the mobility and temporary presence of the individuals receiving or taking part in fertility care is a significant backdrop that defines the timeline and choice of medications and diagnostics available to medical providers in their assessment and development of itineraries of fertility care.