Dr Susie Kilshaw

Academic position: Principal Research Fellow

Department: Anthropology

Biography:

A Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology, Susie's current research investigates the practices around pregnancy endings including the handling, management and disposal of pregnancy remains. Her PhD (Social Anthropology, UCL) focused on Gulf War Syndrome, exploring the way the condition was shaped by wider social and cultural forces in the UK. Susie's book Impotent Warriors: Gulf War Syndrome, Vulnerability and Masculinity (Berghahn, 2009) discussing the way GWS narratives involve concerns about diminished masculinity. Susie has conducted research in Qatar with one project exploring Qatari notions of genetics and risk and the other focusing on experiences of miscarriage; both funded by the Qatar Foundation. A book, Pregnancy and Miscarriage in Qatar: Women, Reproduction and the State (Bloomsbury 2020) and a co-authored collected volume, Navigating miscarriage: Social, Medical and Cultural Perspectives. Edited by S. Kilshaw and K. Borg. (Berghahn 2020) explore miscarriage from an anthropological perspective.

Research Projects:

Susie is conducting research into the practices around miscarriage in the UK, including the handling, management and disposal or pregnancy remains. She is based at an early pregnancy assessment unit and related NHS sites. The research involves observations in these sites and also interviews with women who are or have recently miscarried and those involved in all aspects of their care.

Her current research into the practices around pregnancy loss falls under the rubric of Health, Mind and Social. Her previous research looked broadly at experiences of miscarriage in the UK and in Qatar. It looked at the way in which cultural context impacted the experience of pregnancy loss.

Teaching:

Susie acts as a patient tutor and is involved in revamping the curricula including teaching and assessment for the obs and gynae course at OUH particularly involved in teaching medical students about pregnancy loss.