Two pink lines appeared on a pregnancy test after exactly three minutes of waiting, which changed my life forever. It was two days before I was supposed to start my period and over the next 24 hours I bounced back between treating, crying, screaming in secret arousal, and planning a way to surprise my husband by telling him that I was. pregnant for the first time.
This happened in 2016. If it had been 40 years earlier, this private moment of finding out I was pregnant – on my own, at home – wouldn’t have been possible.
Home pregnancy tests are one of the most amazing inventions for women. They’re available in all major drugstores and grocery stores, super easy to use, and reveal pregnancy (or not!) In minutes, with nearly 99% accuracy.
It’s hard not to take these miracle pee sticks for granted, but there was a time when our mothers and grandmothers weren’t so lucky.
Can you imagine waiting until your period hasn’t started or you’ve developed symptoms of early pregnancy to know you are expecting? Or having to make an appointment with an OB-GYN, so they can run a test with questionable science (which, by the way, hurts animals in the process) just to wait a few more days for your result? Fortunately, research has come a long way, benefiting both expectant moms and hopeful women. not be pregnant — extremely.
The evolution of home pregnancy testing is fascinating, with records of the use of urine to detect pregnancy dating back to the ancient Egyptians!
When were the first home pregnancy tests available?
“The first home pregnancy test kits hit the market in 1977,” says Mary Jane Minkin, MD, OB-GYN, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the School of Medicine. Yale University and founder of madameovary.com.
Let this soak for a second. 1977 was 8 years after we landed on the moon. It was the year Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope hit theaters and people were dancing to ABBA and the Eagles. My mother was 7 years old, that is to say her mom did not have the ability to determine pregnancy at home. Wild, right?
According to the Office of National Institutes of Health History & Stetten Museum, the first pregnancy test on the market was created by Warner-Chilcott, called the “Early Pregnancy Test” or “Error Proof Test” and marketed as “ept “. They sought FDA approval. in 1976, which was granted at the end of 1977. It was approved with the Predictor, ACU-TEST and Answer.
Pregnancy tests were officially advertised in women’s magazines in 1978, offering everything they included for just $ 10: a vial of purified water, a test tube with sheep red blood cells (we know, that was another time), a drug dropper and clear plastic holder for the test tube. So, yeah, it looked a lot different from the little plastic stick we have today. The test lasted two hours and claimed 97% accuracy on the positives and 80% on the negatives.
What were women’s options before home pregnancy tests?
In 1350 BCE, there are written records of ancient Egyptian women urinating on wheat and barley seeds for several days. If the urine supported the growth of barley, then the woman was probably pregnant. Later, people tried to guess the pregnancy status based on the color of the urine.
It wasn’t until the 1890s that scientists discovered hormones in the body and doctors encouraged women to see a doctor as soon as a pregnancy was suspected to benefit from better prenatal care. In the 1920s, scientists recognized that the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone was only found in pregnant women, and in 1927, scientists Selmar Aschheim and Bernhard Zondek discovered that injecting urine of a pregnant woman in an immature mouse or rabbit would cause her to go into heat (a process known as the AZ test).
To determine if a woman was pregnant before the 1960s, doctors would inject her urine into a small animal like a rabbit and monitor the results.
“Before the home pregnancy tests, you went through your doctor’s office – and they did a urine test, which actually involved injecting the sample into a rabbit – and the slang expression that people were using was that you had to wait until the rabbit died to find out if you were pregnant, “says Dr. Minkin.” In fact, they saw if the injection made the rabbit’s uterus grow bigger!
According to the NIH, “these tests were expensive, required the sacrifice of several animals, and slow, often taking days to get results.” Certainly not ideal – or human.
While you waited for your “rabbit test” results, many single women often received “a concurrent lecture about being a single mother,” says Dr. Minkin. It’s not a good conversation all the time, but especially when you look forward to the results!
What are the best tests on the market today?
“Things are much better now,” says Dr Minkin. “All modern tests involve testing for a hormone called hCG, and the tests involve sophisticated antibodies against hCG that can be quantified. HCG is made by the fertilized egg as it goes. it begins to grow after being implanted in the wall of the uterus.
There are different levels of sensitivity on pregnancy tests that determine how quickly it can pick up hCG, which also affects the price. Either way, most tests are 50% to 75% accurate four to five days before your missed period and about 99% on the day of your missed period.
“Different companies have advanced science, making tests more and more sensitive,” adds Dr Minkin. “And there is actually a test called the first response test, which is so sensitive that it can tell you that you are pregnant 6 days before the first day of the missed period.”
Why is it important to find out that you are pregnant earlier?
Finding out you’re pregnant sooner, without having to go to a doctor (or sacrifice animals) is a game-changer for women.
“For women who are happy to be pregnant,” says Dr. Minkin, “they want to see if they’re pregnant as soon as possible. And yes, we know that even though people try to be as good as possible (not to smoke, not to drink, not to drugs) while they are trying to conceive, we know that nothing reinforces good behavior like a child. positive pregnancy test.
On the other hand, taking a home pregnancy test is also important for those who do not want to be pregnant. “For those who really don’t want to be pregnant, if you live in Texas or other states that might copy that state, if you want to terminate a pregnancy, you need to do so as soon as possible,” says Dr. Minkin. “And if you know you’re pregnant even before you’ve missed your period, you can plan the process as soon as possible.”
What future for home pregnancy tests?
“Fortunately, we’ve come a long way since 1976 in terms of technology,” says Dr Minkin. And things are still changing all the time.
For example, LIA makes an ultra-thin pregnancy test from disposable, compostable paper, unlike the large plastic tests of the past. And Stix Pregnancy Tests can be mailed to you in discreet packaging on a recurring basis, so you never have to worry about going to the store to pick one up (especially if you don’t want someone see you).
Whether you are trying to conceive or not, reliable and easy-to-use pregnancy tests are available to quickly tell you if you are pregnant. It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?
Sources
National Institutes of Health. Pregnancy Test Timeline – History – NIH History Office and Stetten Museum.
Featured Expert
Mary Jane Minkin, MD, OB-GYN, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale University School of Medicine and Founder of madameovary.com
Dr Minkin is a practicing gynecologist with a particular interest in menopause. She is a North American Menopause Society certified menopause clinician. She is also the Co-Director of the Sexuality, Intimacy and Menopause Program for Cancer Survivors at the Smilow Cancer Center. She has taught at Yale University School of Medicine for over 41 years and is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. Dr. Minkin has been recognized by Connecticut Magazine as a “Top Doc” in the state. Her website, madameovary.com, is a wealth of information on menopause, including articles, videos and podcasts.
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