The Comprehensive History of Parenting Gadgets: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Menstrual cups, birth control pill packs, IUDs, pessaries, nursing bras, baby bottles, strollers, and snot suckers are among the items that take the spotlight in [Designing Motherhood: Things That Make and Break Our Births](https://madmuseum.org/exhibition/designing-motherhood). These and other objects that support reproductive health and childrearing, displayed on the walls and vitrines at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), may be familiar to you. They might even be tucked in your medicine cabinet, underwear drawer, or bag right now, or entangled with memories from your childhood or stories from your parents or grandparents. Every consumer product, societal system, and architectural space in the full-floor exhibition — featuring more than 250 examples spanning the past 150 years or so — illuminates how design shapes diverse experiences of parenthood, from navigating fertility and conception to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum life.
MAD is the latest stop for the traveling exhibition, which kicked off in 2021. It was orchestrated by [Designing Motherhood](https://designingmotherhood.org/About), a collaborative project with a mission to deepen awareness about the “arc of human reproduction.” This endeavor has taken several forms: a [book](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262044899/designing-motherhood/), an open-source [curriculum](https://designingmotherhood.org/Curriculum), public programs, a [portrait series](https://designingmotherhood.org/Narrative-Portraits), partnerships with maternity-care organizations, and the [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/designingmotherhood/?hl=en) account that started it all in 2019. For each stop of the *Designing Motherhood* museum tour, the show gets refreshed to meet the moment and tap into both the host institution’s collections and nuances of the local culture. Now in its sixth iteration, it includes a new section devoted to product design as a nod to New York City’s history as a design hub and its resident parents; for instance, a wall of strollers built for urban life speaks to those seeking products suited to city streets and subway stairs.
The show opens with a section on labor and birth, and a trio of “baby boxes” — kits stocked with essential supplies for newborns and their caregivers. An *Äitiyspakkaus* (maternity package) from Finland offers a glimpse at a contemporary version of the original baby boxes, which launched in the country in 1938. The Finnish government provides these starter kits to new parents free of charge. This concept eventually spread to other countries, only recently making its way to the United States. A sample [NYC Baby Box](https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/pressrelease/mayor-adams-launches-two-signature-programs-to-make-life-more-affordable-for-new-mothers-and-families-avoid-shelter-and-poverty/) — available to those who give birth at four NYC Health + Hospitals locations as of October 2025 — displays its contents: diapers, clothing, and rash cream, to name a few. (Recently, mayor-elect Mamdani announced plans for [NYC Baby Baskets](https://www.facebook.com/ZohranKMamdani/posts/each-year-125000-new-yorkers-are-born-across-our-city-but-the-cost-of-living-cri/1211764950762321/) stocked with similar supplies and resources for new parents.)
Other New York City-centric designs make appearances, too, including the once-ubiquitous [NYC Condoms](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/nyregion/15condom.html) (2007) and posters with information in 14 languages about the [New York City Abortion Access Hub](https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/abortion.page). The show continues with sections devoted to menstruation, conception and pregnancy, community care and knowledge sharing, tools for pregnancy and postpartum care, and baby gear. Throughout, the displays highlight the challenges of navigating the healthcare system, barriers to accessing care, and the alarmingly [high rates](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2024-06-04/how-the-u-s-compares-to-other-rich-countries-in-maternal-mortality) of maternal deaths in the US, a [crisis](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/magazine/black-mothers-babies-death-maternal-mortality.html) that disproportionately affects Black women.
During your visit, pay attention to the polka dots: Each item is paired with a number on a silver dot that corresponds with a blurb in the
