Podcast Summary: "How Design Has Shaped Motherhood and Reproductive Health"

Podcast: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Date: October 8, 2025
Guests: Alexandra Schwartz & Elizabeth Kane (Co-curators, "Designing Motherhood" Exhibition at MAD)

Overview of the Episode

This episode explores how design—spanning the smallest of objects to vast systems—has shaped the experience of motherhood, reproductive health, and parenting. Through the lens of the "Designing Motherhood" exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design, host Alison Stewart and her guests discuss the history, impact, and sometimes the controversy around everyday items and systemic designs related to birth, contraception, pregnancy, and postpartum life. Insights from historians, designers, and listeners reveal the deep social, political, and personal implications of these products.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Central Argument of "Designing Motherhood"

• Alexandra Schwartz [03:10]:
  • The exhibition and book bring attention to reproductive health products and their broader impact, highlighting objects from menstruation to menopause.
  • “Because it concerns reproduction and really the entire arc … these items really do affect people’s health and well being. They have a big impact on people’s lives and how their bodies are thriving or not thriving.”

2. Expansive Concept of Design

• Elizabeth Kane [04:30]:
  • Design is not just about objects, but also about access, systems, and circulation.
  • The exhibition takes a “spoon to city approach”—from intimate medical devices to urban infrastructure.
  • “Design is a really expansive idea…not just the products that you’re looking at, it’s the design of access to those products by way of systems, by way of circulation.”

3. Evolution of Motherhood in Design

• Elizabeth Kane [05:52]:
  • Visitors see changing social values through objects like maternity wear; from girdles to elasticized clothing, reflecting changing attitudes toward pregnancy.
  • Historical pessaries—often alarming, like “rusty coils, a glass globe”—showcase past neglect, while modern designs like the Rhea Pessary (by an all-female team) show progress.

4. Sourcing and Tailoring the Exhibit

• Alexandra Schwartz [07:48]:
  • The curators tailored the traveling exhibition to the NYC experience—focusing on the “baby gear industrial complex,” urban stroller evolution, baby furniture, and product recalls for safety concerns.

5. Anxiety & Consumerism

• Elizabeth Kane [09:41]:
  • Design both invents solutions and preys on parental anxiety, which marketers sometimes exacerbate.
  • Some imaginative prototypes fail due to lack of commercial support, even if they could solve real problems.

Notable Quotes & Listener Insights

Repurposing Designs & Cultural Influence

• Laura from Harlem [10:43]:

  • Describes using MOMA’s book nightlight, not marketed for mothers but essential for late nights with newborns, and a warm-light timed lamp to help with bedtime routines.

• Margaret, labor and delivery nurse [11:46]:

  • Notes lack of innovation in fetal heart monitors over 13 years; compares it to if phones remained unchanged. Expresses frustration with outdated and unreliable wireless options.

• Janet from Brooklyn [12:45]:

  • Shares story of the Snuggly baby carrier’s origin from African influences observed by Peace Corps workers, now ubiquitous in American parenting.
  • “Americans, of course, make a lot of money. They find a way to sell you something.”

Cross-Cultural Adaptations

• Alexandra Schwartz [13:49]:
  • Confirms original Snuggly's inclusion in the exhibit and highlights the adaptation of global practices to commercial U.S. products.

Self-Advocacy & Innovation Gaps

• Kelly from Fairfield, CT [16:34]:

  • Shares her positive experience with uterine ablation and questions why such non-hormonal, permanent solutions remain largely unknown.
  • “Why in the world don’t we know this? Why is this the best kept secret?”

• Alexandra Schwartz [18:04]:

  • Suggests taboos and sexism have kept many reproductive health solutions under-discussed and under-researched.

Wartime Origins of Reproductive Products

• Alexandra Schwartz [19:45]:

  • Ultrasound/sonogram technology originated as submarine detectors in WWII.
  • “It’s really fascinating how those designs have evolved into other uses.”

• Elizabeth Kane [20:33]:

  • Kotex’s cellucotton (now menstrual pads) was invented during WWI for wounds before nurses repurposed it for themselves.
  • The IUD inserter is based on Civil War-era forceps for bullet removal; modernized designs aim to provide humane, accurate tools today.

Gendered Design & User Experience

• Annie from Jackson Heights [21:25]:

  • Emphasizes emotional and practical impact of beautiful, well-designed nursing bras.

• Leah from Norwalk [22:18]:

  • Praises auto-injector devices for hormone injections during IVF; highlights changing needs and advances for solo parents.

• Joel [23:12]:

  • Applauds bouncy saucers for freeing parents’ hands and allowing child development, enables “you could take your eye off… and not have to worry about something calamitous happening.”

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:10 | Central argument: Design’s hidden impact on reproductive health | | 04:30 | “Spoon to city”: Expanding the concept of design | | 05:52 | Fashion and medical object evolution over time | | 07:48 | Curatorial process and focus on NYC baby gear | | 09:41 | How marketing leverages parental anxiety | | 11:46 | Listener: Innovation gap in fetal monitors in maternity wards | | 12:45 | Listener: Cultural origins of modern baby carriers (Snuggly) | | 13:49 | Confirming cross-cultural origin stories in the exhibit | | 16:34 | Listener: Little-known uterine ablation as a non-hormonal solution | | 19:45 | Military innovations turned to OB/GYN uses; origins of ultrasound | | 21:25 | Listener: Empowerment from attractive, user-friendly nursing wear | | 22:18 | Listener: IVF auto-injector—advancing parental autonomy | | 24:04 | Exhibit: Jolly Jumper—a Native woman’s patented infant invention | | 24:59 | The complicated, sometimes exploitative legacy of “women’s” devices | | 26:36 | Political dimensions: contraception’s iconography and controversy |

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “Design is a really expansive idea. It’s not just the products you’re looking at, it’s access, systems, and circulation.” — Elizabeth Kane [04:30]

• “You can’t pretend that anxiety and consumerism isn’t also a part of design.” — Elizabeth Kane [09:41]

• “Why in the world don’t we know this? Why is this the best kept secret?” — Kelly, caller [16:42]

• “Some designs are updated because they’ll make more money. Others are sadly neglected.” — Elizabeth Kane [14:17]

• “There are a number of designs made for women that didn’t have their best interest at heart…The Sims speculum was developed through experiments on enslaved women of color.” — Elizabeth Kane [24:59]

The Political Dimension of Design

• Alexandra Schwartz [26:36]:
  • Nearly every reproductive health design is political: contraception was and remains controversial; many products carry the weight of taboo or societal control.
  • The original dial pack of the pill is a design icon—its circular days-of-the-week design meant to aid compliance.

Tone and Final Thoughts

The conversation balances celebration of innovation—especially when designs are created by and for women—with a critical lens on failures, injustices, and the commercial pressures that shape what ends up in our homes and bodies. Listener stories highlight both the ingenuity and the persistent gaps or oversights in reproductive health design.

Closing Thought from Elizabeth Kane [24:59]:

“As much as we do try to shout out and really celebrate great designs in the show, that part … to make and break our births is equally important. There are a number of designs I could point to... I think it’s important to highlight those often traumatic histories alongside the really creative and inspiring correctives to them.”

For Listeners

This episode is a must for anyone curious about the past, present, and future of design in shaping not only the practicalities but also the politics and personal experience of reproductive life—inviting all to reflect, question, and advocate for better design.

Designing Motherhood: Things that Make and Break Our Births is on view at the Museum of Arts and Design through March 15th.