Nineteenth Century Scientists did not know enough about pregnancy to develop a reliable test. However, for sexually active women, the best method for diagnosing pregnancy remained careful observation of their own physical signs and symptoms (such as morning sickness).
One of the oldest descriptions of a pregnancy test comes from ancient Egypt, where women who suspected they were pregnant would urinate on wheat and barley seeds: If the wheat grew, they believed, it meant the woman was having a girl; the barley, a boy; if neither plant sprouted, she wasn't pregnant at all.
Avicenna may have inspired the so-called “Piss Prophets” of 17th century Europe, who turned uroscopy into an art form. The Piss Prophets were a group of ancient physicians who would hold jars of urine to the light and scrutinize its color to diagnose all sorts of ailments, including pregnancy.
In 1927 a bioassay called the “A-Z Test” became the first test to determine a woman's pregnancy. The test worked by injecting a woman's urine into an immature rat or mouse. If the rodent had a resulting estrous reaction, in other words went in heat, it implied the presence of the hCG hormone in the urine and pregnancy.
Things like missing your period, sore or tender breasts, feeling more tired and nausea (morning sickness) are common symptoms of early pregnancy. Some people have symptoms of pregnancy before they miss their period. Take an at-home pregnancy test if you think you might be pregnant.
The oldest known test involved urinating on grain seeds and seeing if they sprouted. The late 1920s marked the first modern pregnancy tests, in which urine was injected into animals: pregnant women's urine made them ovulate. These tests required shipping urine to a lab and took at least a week to get results.
Spotting (6-12 days after conception) Breasts that are tender or swollen (1-2 weeks after conception) Constant fatigue (as early as the first week) Nausea and morning sickness (2-8 weeks after conception)
In an era long before chemical or hormonal contraceptive technology, Civil War-era Americans used the same methods known for centuries throughout the early modern world to prevent pregnancy. These, of course, included the ancient methods of coitus interruptus—or withdrawal, and the rhythm method.
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone that concentrates in the urine of pregnant women, causes the ovaries of some animals to become deformed. So by cutting open an injected animal and looking at her ovaries, scientists could tell if the woman supplying the urine was pregnant.
However, there is no medical research suggesting that salt-based home pregnancy tests work. People may be interested in trying a homemade pregnancy test with salt because they do not wish to pay for or use a traditional pregnancy test. However, using salt to test for pregnancy is not a reliable option.
The Oldest Methods
Around 1850 B.C. Egyptian women mixed acacia leaves with honey or used animal dung to make vaginal suppositories to prevent pregnancy. The Greeks in the 4th century B.C. used natural ointments made with olive and cedar oil as spermicides. A popular Roman writer advocated abstinence.
Most women were assisted in childbirth not by an doctor but by a midwife. Most midwives were older women who relied on practical experience in delivering children. One midwife, Martha Ballard, who practiced in Augusta, Maine, delivered 996 women with only four recorded fatalities. Skilled midwives were highly valued.
ADVANCE Home Pregnancy Test, 1984
It simply turned blue if a woman was pregnant, otherwise, it remained white.
In the 1960s, the only way to test for pregnancy was to make a doctor's appointment, give a urine sample, and wait up to two weeks for the results.
Cryptic pregnancy is rare. Studies estimate that 1 in 400 or 500 women are 20 weeks (about 5 months) into pregnancy before realizing it. One in 2,500 women go all the way to delivery before realizing they're having a baby. That's about three times more common than the chance of having triplets.
Garlic and onion test
In ancient Egypt, either garlic or onion was put near (or shoved up) the vagina of the woman. In the morning, if the breath of the women smelled of garlic and onion, it was considered a negative pregnancy test.
Plus, the frogs could be reused. By the 1970s, the rabbits lived. That's when the first over-the-counter pregnancy tests became widely available. And though they no longer involved an animal, they functioned in essentially the same way, testing for HCG.
The “Hogben test” was simple. Collect a woman's urine and inject it, fresh and untreated, under the skin of a female Xenopus. Then, wait. If the woman is pregnant, between five and 12 hours later, the frog will produce a cluster of millimeter-sized, black-and-white spheres.
Most people prefer peeing directly on a midstream test, but there are people who prefer to dip the test in a cup of urine. Test strips, on the other hand, are not designed to be peed on directly. With HCG test strips, you'll want to pee in a cup and dip the test strip in the cup to get an accurate result.
Barrier methods were always very popular. A halved, emptied lemon skin placed over the cervix worked well, for example, as did sponges soaked in natural spermicides such as vinegar.
The first rubber condom was produced in 1855, and by the late 1850s several major rubber companies were mass-producing, among other items, rubber condoms. A main advantage of rubber condoms was their reusability, making them a more economical choice in the long term.
The earliest forms of birth control, as well as abortion, were found in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia as far back as 1850 BC. Papyrus scrolls were found to contain directions on how to make birth control, using honey, acacia leaves, and also lint as a form of cervical cap to prevent sperm from entering the womb.
While one woman might discover she's pregnant right away, some other woman may take weeks or months to do the same. That doesn't mean either woman is "wrong" or "weird"—it just means they're experiencing pregnancy differently.
The most common early signs and symptoms of pregnancy might include: Missed period. If you're in your childbearing years and a week or more has passed without the start of an expected menstrual cycle, you might be pregnant. However, this symptom can be misleading if you have an irregular menstrual cycle.
1920s. In the 1920s, German-born physician and scientist Ernst Graefenberg developed a silver intrauterine device that women could insert into the uterus to prevent pregnancy.