What does it mean to contemplate 'motherhood' in a world that values some bodies - and some decisions - over others?  Behavioural scientist Pragya Agarwal tells Alice Bloch about her experiences as a woman of South Asian heritage - from abortion, to pregnancy, to surrogacy - and the social, historical and scientific factors that shape how we talk about motherhood. How have women been controlled and contained through history? And how does that continue, worldwide, today? 
 
A candid conversation about maternity and reproductive justice, asking what motherhood means in a world of inequality, prejudice and control.

Hosts: Alice Bloch and Samira Shackle
Exec Producer: Alice Bloch
Sound Engineer: David Crackles
Music: Danosongs
Image artwork: Ed Dingli
 
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Reading list:

'(M)otherhood: On the Choices of Being a Woman' (2021) Pragya Agarwal

Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias (2020) Pragya Agarwal

Alice Bloch, Review of 'Childless Voices' by Lorna Gibb (2019) New Humanist Magazine