Groups and Locations

history, medicine, Obstetrics, Gynecology, woman, anatomy, pregnancy, test, kit, united states, testimonials

The Thin Blue Line is an online exhibition published by the Stetton Museum, Office of National Institutes of Health (NIH) History in collaboration with the Centre for History and New Media. It looks at the history of the home pregnancy test kit in the United States, and the researchers who contributed to its release in 1978. On the site are interviews with Judith Vaitukaitis and Glenn Braunstein who worked at the NIH during the 1970s on reproductive hormone studies and hCG research, and were instrumental to the development of the pregnancy test. A timeline on the site charts pregnancy testing over the centuries, and the advertisements section features digitized images of several 1970s and 1980s magazine ads. Along with the glossary and suggested reading, there is also a forum where people can submit their own stories of using home test kits, building up an archive of first hand accounts.