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Adverts around pregnancy testing today present a VERY homogenous image – that everyone taking a pregnancy test is hoping for – and will get – a positive result (which then means they can jump for joy with their husband in their lovely house.) This is just not representative, and it stigmatises any other type of experience or pregnancy intention.
To challenge the current narrative, we want to share the myriad of experiences and emotions attached to pregnancy testing – from the joy of a positive result to the joy of a negative result. From heartbreak after an unsuccessful IVF cycle, to the relief that an unwanted pregnancy has been avoided, to the uncertainty about what to do next following a positive result.
Across our reproductive lifetimes, women will take pregnancy tests with very different intentions and hopes for the result. We believe that pregnancy test adverts should reflect that.
Join in – send your #MyResultMyResponse video to external-affairs-team@bpas.org or share on social media using the hashtag.
It’s been 50 years since Margaret Crane created the first at-home pregnancy test and boy do we owe her a lot!
Prior to at-home pregnancy tests, women would have to visit their doctor to do a test. Not only did this compromise an individual’s privacy, but often it would take weeks to get their test results back.
Crane’s first prototype which combined a paper clip holder, a test tube, a mirror, and a dropper- received much backlash. Laboratories were worried that Crane’s invention would make them, and doctors lose business. It took ten years for Crane’s invention to go from prototype to shelves.
Even more frustratingly, Crane never saw a penny for her design. Oregon licensed the product to three over-the-counter pharmaceutical companies whom Crane had to sign off her rights to for just a dollar (which she never saw).
It wasn’t until nearly 40 years later in 2012 when the New York Times featured Crane in their ‘Who Made it’ feature that Crane received proper recognition after reading the article, and noticing their name was not featured. Crane came forward, emailed the author of the article, and since has received the recognition that she deserves.
To celebrate Margaret Crane, and the millions of women who’ve benefitted from her invention, we are asking you to share your experience with pregnancy tests. Whether it’s an embarrassing moment you had to ask a supermarket cashier to open the counter for you or finding out you were pregnant with your first child, we’d love to hear from you.
