2026 Virtual Symposium of the Society for the Study of Pregnancy and Birth.

Beauty and the Sublime in Gestation and Coming into Being: Art and the Aesthetics of Pregnancy and Birth.

Co-Keynote Speakers: Lauren Bice, DNP, CRNA and Sheila Lintott, PhD.

The Society for the Study of Pregnancy and Birth (SSPRB) is pleased to announce the Call for Papers for its second international virtual symposium, Beauty and the Sublime in Gestation and Coming into Being: Art and the Aesthetics of Pregnancy and Birth, a virtual event that will take place online across two half day sessions on June 4-5, 2026 (to facilitate participation across time zones).

In her work on experiences of a feminist sublime in gestation and birth, American philosopher Sheila Lintott has described these experiences as, “dangerous internal experiences that prompt both introspective and extrospective exploration and recognition.” This international virtual symposium explores and recognizes these experiences, seeking to highlight scholarship and ideas on art about birth and pregnancy, as well as philosophical approaches to aesthetic properties, values, and qualities related to beauty and the sublime in gestation and coming into being. Some areas of interest include:

• How have artists represented pregnancy and birth, both historically and in our contemporary world, and what do these images convey to their viewers about the experiences they represent?

• How do aesthetic qualities emerge through our experiences of pregnancy, birth, and coming into being?

• How do birth professionals inform us about birth, neonatal life and the aesthetics of the birth environment through their work?

• Where do we see the aesthetics of pregnancy and birth within the field of philosophy?

• What are some of the ways in which different cultures celebrate or influence the art, beauty, and/or the aesthetics of pregnancy and birth?

• What are the internal and external aesthetic experiences of parents who adopt or foster children?

• How does phenomenology intersect with the aesthetics of pregnancy and birth?

• How are art and the aesthetics of pregnancy and birth part of the Birthing Justice Movement or other movements?

We are interested in philosophical, interdisciplinary, and/or artistic approaches to art and the aesthetics of pregnancy and birth, and welcome papers in fields across the arts, humanities, social sciences and psychology. We also welcome the work of birth professionals whose backgrounds inform their understanding of aesthetics in spaces of birth.

We invite abstracts for short papers (15-20 minutes) from any discipline to be submitted by Monday, December 1, 2025. Please email abstracts (with titles) of no more than 250 words and a short biography (75 words) to the Society for the Study of Pregnancy and Birth (SSPRB): ssprbpapersgmail.com. Full panel submissions are also welcome and should include the same information for each presenter on the panel (abstract and biography). Panels should include 3-4 presenters. Please note that presenters on a 4-person panel will have less time to present their work.

The event will be recorded and accessible on request for those not able to attend.

You can contact us at ssprbsocietygmail.com. Sign up for the SSPRB Newsletter here: ssprb.substack.com. To learn more about the Society for the Study of Pregnancy and Birth, visit our website at www.ssprb.org.

https://www.ssprb.org/symposia.html