the Female Body GOVERNING

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to have safer pregnancies or as an act of self-medicalization. This
contradiction refl ects the promises and perils embedded in both new
genomic technologies and new communication technologies, which offer
individuals more choices.
Care for the Self and Others
Women’s “caring” in relation to thrombophilia, however, did not stop
at the end of pregnancy. The conversations on the list illustrated that
caring for family in relation to thrombophilia was a continuous project
for the women on the list. This caring attitude permeated the list and
manifested in a specifi c gendered rhetoric of care for others (Gilligan,
1993). Similar gendered rhetoric of care has also been observed in
women’s online self-help lists more generally (see Sharf, 1997), but it
was probably accentuated on the thrombophilia list by the genetic focus
on families (also Franklin & McKinnon, 2002; Hallowell, 1999).
An issue participants frequently discussed in their role as mothers
was whether to test children for thrombophilia. If the decision was to
test, then the question often was at what age to test:
My hematologist told me that they wouldn’t test my daughter until
she was 13 or so, as children weren’t at risk. But I see from reading
your messages that some of your kids have had problems at quite a
young age. Do you think I should press the doctor to get my daughter
tested?
As with the pregnancy, the list members typically erred on the side of
prevention above all else recommending testing children so as to best
protect them:
I have four children ages 21,18,13 and 11. I had all of them tested
because I believe it is important to have as much medical information
on your children as you can. What if your child breaks a bone and
needs emergency surgery. You will need to know immediately that
your child is in jeopardy of developing clots from the surgery and the
immobilization.
Occasionally a member of the group suggested waiting, which would
allow the child a “normal” childhood:
I probably would not have them tested before the teenage years out
of one simple reason: even if you swear you will let your child live a