1978

e.p.t was advertised in major women’s magazines including: Mademoiselle, McCall’s, Redbook, Family Circle, Ladies’ Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and Vogue. Advertisements appeared later in the year for Predictor, Answer, and ACU-TEST.

The e.p.t test of 1978 was described to the public in Mademoiselle: “For your $10,” the article notes, “you get pre-measured ingredients consisting of a vial of purified water, a test tube containing, among other things, sheep red blood cells…as well as a medicine dropper and clear plastic support for the test tube, with an angled mirror at the bottom.” The test took two hours, and was more accurate for positive results (97%) than for negative (80%). Advantages, noted Mademoiselle, included “privacy and not having to wait several more weeks for a doctor’s confirmation, which gives you a chance, if pregnant, to start taking care of yourself…or to consider the possibility of early abortion.” (Mademoiselle, April 1978, p. 86)

McCall’s magazine claimed that “physicians we interviewed about the tests endorse the concept.” But the editors cautioned that women who get negative results and who still suspect pregnancy should not wait ten days to take the test again “but should seek medical help as soon as possible.” (McCall’s, March 1978, p. 46)

1979

Taking the test at home, noted a 1979 article in Family Planning Perspectives, both protected the privacy of a woman who might not want her doctor to know she is sexually active and gave women a new opportunity to take an active role in their own health care.

1980s

Research increased and educational campaigns were launched to identify the importance of folic acid in early pregnancy and to warn of the dangers of various environmental hazards and alcohol to a developing fetus.

1990s

Advances in the technology of pregnancy tests included the development of new types of antibodies and the use of enzyme labels in place of radioactive labels.

2003

The next generation of home pregnancy tests was ushered in with FDA approval of Clearblue Easy’s digital pregnancy test. In place of a thin blue line, the indicator screen will now display either “pregnant” or “not pregnant.”

JV: The home pregnancy test is probably the most widely used test besides the hematocrit and hemoglobin [the blood test to measure red blood cells and iron levels that is part of the blood workup done regularly at doctors’ offices].

Advertisement for ACU-TEST, American Journal of Public Health, January 1979.

"Dear Pharmacist" letter from Warner-Chilcott, c. 1977. Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution