The idea that fetal ultrasound is useful for promoting a pregnant woman’s emotional attachment to her fetus is commonplace in the United States. While STS scholars have examined many facets of ultrasound, scholars have not analyzed the medical construction of ultrasound as an affective technology. This article fills that gap by bringing feminist STS and affect studies together to examine medical understandings of fetal ultrasound’s emotional utility. The project interprets a unique archive of published medical research on measuring maternal-fetal bonding and using ultrasound to promote that bonding. My discourse analysis shows that this medical research defines “optimal bonding” in a way that reflects the norms of intensive mothering. I argue that this medical research contributes to the creation of a new, presumably high-risk population of “sub-optimal bonders.” The research I examine also suggests that medical professionals may be able to use the technological fix of ultrasound to manage this new population’s emotions and behaviors. In the process, medical experts individualize the risks of infant well-being and locate those risks in women’s emotional state.

中文翻译：

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分娩前的良好母亲：测量依恋和超声波作为一种情感技术

在美国，胎儿超声对促进孕妇对胎儿的情感依恋很有用。尽管STS学者已经研究了超声波的许多方面，但学者们并未分析超声波作为一种情感技术的医学结构。本文通过将女权主义者的STS纳入研究来填补这一空白，并进行相关研究以检验医学对胎儿超声的情感效用的理解。该项目解释了已发表的有关测量母胎结合并使用超声促进这种结合的医学研究的独特档案。我的话语分析表明，这项医学研究以反映强化母亲规范的方式定义了“最佳结合”。我认为这项医学研究有助于创建新的，可能是“次优结合者”的高风险人群。我检查的研究还表明，医疗专业人员可能能够使用超声波的技术手段来管理这一新人群的情绪和行为。在此过程中，医学专家会个性化婴儿健康的风险，并将这些风险定位在女性的情绪状态中。