Word: pregnant
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Ancient Egyptian women urinated on the leaves of the papyrus plant. If the plant died, everything was as usual. If it survived, they were pregnant. Such self-diagnosis among would-be mothers (or those who would prefer not to be) is still coveted today. Despite some frowns from the medical establishment, a growing number of women are using commercial kits, sold over the counter in pharmacies, which are designed to allay their fears-or confirm their wishes-about pregnancy. Says one proponent of the do-it-yourself trend: "It gives me the opportunity to find out whether I am pregnant...
...antibody, sterile water, a stand and a dropper. If the woman adds a few drops of her first morning urine to this test-tube brew, then lets it sit for about two hours, a doughnut shape or ring should form on the bottom of the glass if she is pregnant. Warner/Chilcott, producer of one popular line of the kits, claims that its product, on first test, is 97% accurate if the results are positive and 80% accurate if the results are negative...
...Eastern Women's Center had trouble following the printed instructions. One potential problem for kit users: some women tend to rush into the tests, failing to wait at least nine days after a missed period, as the instructions direct. Thus they get negative results even when they are pregnant...
...more serious objection: if a woman thinks that she is not pregnant when, in fact, she is, she may delay going to a physician. Such procrastination can be particularly dangerous in tubal pregnancies, which require early medical attention because the fallopian tube can rupture and possibly cause death...
Women who do work have long been paid less and received fewer benefits, often on the excuse that they might become pregnant. Glenna Lehtonen, now a housewife with two babies in East Templeton, Mass., was one of the three women whose successful suit against Massachusetts Electric established that under the state ERA, pregnancy is just another biological contingency that must be included in routine disability plans. So far, Mrs. Lehtonen's cash award for several pregnancy-related illnesses has been only $97. The court decision in her case, however, grants rights that the U.S. Supreme Court, without...