How You Can Tell If You're Pregnant (c. 1969)

At my parents' house recently I unearthed an (unintentionally) hilarious book that my mom saved from when she was pregnant with my sister back in 1969. Oh, how times have changed!

The book is called "The Expectant Mother" and was published as a mass-market paperback back in 1967 by Redbook Magazine. Think of it is a very early, very ignorant version of What to Expect When You're Expecting:


(By the way, I don't know about you, but I did not look like a serene brunette in a long frilly nightgown when I was pregnant. More like a tired, nauseous woman with a messy ponytail, wearing the same sweatpants for the 3rd day straight):

Let's peek inside to find out all the ways a woman might have known she was pregnant, shall we?



Hmmm. A doctor hearing a heartbeat, a doctor feeling a "fetal movement" (I guess the mom feeling it doesn't count for much), or an x-ray that "shows a fetal outline." X-rays confirming pregnancy? Super idea!

I also learned that the TLC show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" actually hearkens back to this era. Apparently even the erudite male obstetricians of 1969 could not detect that one 300+ lb fertility patient had indeed already conceived:

Great stuff, right? Just wait until labor & delivery draws closer....and when Mama has to bring that Nixon-era baby home. More to come as I scan it in!