Medical Antropology Essay - 889 Words

Medical anthropology addresses the symbolic, narrative, and ethical dimension of healing, medicine and medical technology in many ways. One way anthropologists address these dimensions is by exploring how local and international communities view wellness, illness, disease and healing through different perspectives. Their goal is to examine how communities are able to function individually as well as to look for themes within the structure and systems of separate communities and cultures. Anthropologists spend a lot of time observing and discussing the theme of treatment within various communities. The traditional model to exploring treatment is to look towards the biomedical system, which â€Å"employ different explanatory models and idioms†¦show more content†¦The use of IVF treatment has remained quiet because of the prejudice and judgment those who use it feel. In Egyptian culture, having children is an important status symbol in a women’s life and for her husband and family. Women face the pressure to have children in order to gain the approval of their husband and their husband’s family. Sakina (Inhorn’s research subject) says her husband â€Å"was tired of spending his hard-earned money on her infertility therapies and who had told her that he planned to remarry â€Å"for children† if she did not become pregnant soon† (Inhorn 2006: 319). Since these treatments are very expensive and do not hold a guarantee of success, it is hard for women to justify them to their families (especially husbands) and there are many misconceptions about what the procedure does. Many of the misconceptions about IVF â€Å"revolved not only around its expense and religious permissibility, but around the complicated â€Å"mechanics† of a new reproductive technology in which the technological imperative of biomedicine is perhaps quintessentially embodied† (Inhorn 2006:321). In Egypt, the IVF technology has gained a lot of media coverage through the airing of soap operas and newspaper/magazine articles, which has led the community to have more questions about it. This has provided a narrative of the IVF procedure in the community. Unfortunately, this narrative centers