Professor Maya Unnithan

Contributing to innovative research programmes

The School of Global Studies is proud to announce that Maya Unnithan, Professor of Social and Medical Anthropology and Director of the Centre for Cultures of Reproduction, Technologies and Health (CORTH) is a partner in the pioneering research programme Contragestive Time, which has recently received a £3.85 million Wellcome Trust Discovery Award.

Wellcome Discovery Awards is a highly competitive scheme which provides funding for established researchers and teams who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding related to human life, health, and wellbeing.

Redefining reproductive choices

Contragestive Time: Pregnant Uncertainties in Fertility Control is a five-year project (2025–2030) exploring innovative approaches to fertility control. Led by Birkbeck, University of London, the project brings together collaborators from Sussex, University of Bristol, Manchester Metropolitan University, King’s College London, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, and Sexual Health:24.

With the help of clinicians, social scientists, lawyers, philosophers, and advocates, the project explores the potential of contragestives, a new generation of fertility control methods designed for use during the crucial but overlooked window after ovulation and before early abortion is possible.

Currently, women have no access to methods that could prevent pregnancy during this sensitive period. Maya and the team aim to understand why these options remain unavailable, investigating the legal, medical, social, cultural, and ethical barriers.

Their goal is to identify what is needed to introduce contragestives safely, as new, effective choices for managing fertility beyond existing hormonal and procedural methods.

Maya’s academic focus

Professor Unnithan’s research explores the cultural politics of reproduction focusing on the social meanings and practices of bodily autonomy, reproductive subjectivities and health governance across India and the UK. Her work addresses issues such as infertility, contraception, assisted reproduction, surrogacy, abortion, and prenatal sex selection, with a strong emphasis on cultural ideas of reproductive justice, gender differences, and rights activism.

As Director of CORTH, Maya also brings together interdisciplinary researchers working at the intersection of sexual reproductive health and emerging reproductive technologies, exploring the moral dimensions that shape social identities and wellbeing.

Maya said: “As an anthropologist I have seen how gender politics, social inequalities and lived realities shape people’s ability to access contraception and exercise reproductive choice.

“Contragestives offer a promising new approach, and we look forward to exploring how our insight and expertise can help make these a reality for women.”

Find out more

The project team is working with the public and policymakers to shape a more inclusive future for fertility control. Its mission is to expand our understanding of reproductive timing and lay the foundation for the next generation of fertility control.

Explore how Contragestive Time prepares the grounds for a contragestive future and read more about Maya’s research.