"A private little revolution": the home pregnancy test in American culture

Bull Hist Med. 2006 Summer;80(2):317-45. doi: 10.1353/bhm.2006.0064.

Abstract

The home pregnancy test went from novelty to norm in twenty-five years. This article explores its cultural impact in the context of the women's health movement. Though women had long made do without it, the "private little revolution," as the test was called in an early advertisement, enabled them to take control of their reproductive health care and moved the moment of discovery from the doctor's office (back) to the home. The article introduces the test, explores its acceptance by physicians and by women, looks at the marketing of the test by drug companies, and traces its use in movies, television, and novels.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Culture
  • Drug Industry / history
  • Female
  • History, 20th Century
  • Humans
  • Marketing / history
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Tests / history*
  • Self Care / history*
  • United States
  • Women's Health / history*