How The First Home Pregnancy Test Was Born (Encore)

In 1965 Margaret Crane was a young designer creating packaging for a pharmaceutical company when a scientist gave her a tour of the lab. Looking at the long rows of pregnancy tests she thought, well anyone could do that test at home! So she set about designing a prototype for America's first home pregnancy test. While the design of the prototype was simple, convincing the company, the medical community and conservative social leaders that at-home pregnancy testing was safe and necessary was an uphill climb for Crane, who is only now receiving credit for her contributions to the industry. This show first aired in February 2024.

Featuring:

• Margaret Crane - Graphic designer and inventor of the first home pregnancy test
• Wendy Kline - Dema G. Seelye Chair in the History of Medicine, History Faculty Purdue University
• Jesse Olszynko-Gryn - Head of the [Laboratory for Oral History and Experimental Media](https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/research/projects/laboratory-oral-history-and-experimental-media) at Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
• Arthur Kover - Emeritus Professor of Marketing, Fordham University
• Alexandra Lord - Chair, Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History

Making Contact Staff:

• Host: Amy Gastelum
• Guest Producer: Anne Noyes Saini
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain

Music:

Podington Bear, Rhythm and Strings

Learn More:

• National Museum of American History https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_1803285
• A Woman's Right to Know, Pregnancy Testing in 20th Century Britain - https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262544399/a-womans-right-to-know/
• Predictor, by Jennifer Blackmer https://newplayexchange.org/plays/348156/predictor

Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.