Ovocon-35 Oral Contraceptive

Description (Brief):

The popularity of “the Pill” created a new market for pharmaceutical companies. For the first time, healthy women would be taking medication for an extended period of time. Pill manufacturers developed unique packaging in order to distinguish their product from those of their competitors and build brand loyalty. Packaging design often incorporated a “memory aid” to assist women in tracking their daily pill regimen, as well as styled cases to allow pills to be discreetly carried in bags and purses. The National Museum of American History’s Division of Medicine and Science’s collection of oral contraceptives illustrates some of the changes that the packaging and marketing of the Pill underwent from its inception in 1960 to the present.

Description (Brief)

Mead Johnson & Company of Evansville, Indiana, produced this Ovocon-35 brand oral contraceptive in 1978. The packaging consists of a white pouch decorated with a purple flower. The 28-pill regimen is in a cardboard blister pack, divided into four rows of seven. To maintain the routine of taking a daily pill, many manufacturers began including a fourth week of inert pills. Ovocon included a fourth week of seven green tablets that were inert. A booklet entitled “Information about the Pill” was included with this oral contraceptive starter pack.

Date Made: 1978

Maker: Mead Johnson and Company

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Indiana, Evansville

Subject: Birth Control/ContraceptionWomen's Health

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Medicine, Health & Medicine, Birth Control

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of Gladys Abell and Lester D. Johnson, Jr., M.D.

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1981.0760.045Accession Number: 1981.0760Catalog Number: 1981.0760.045

Object Name: contraceptive, oralOther Terms: Contraceptives; Patent Medicines; Drugs; Non-Liquid

Physical Description: norethindrone, 0.4 mg (drug active ingredients)ethinyl estradiol, 0.035 mg (drug active ingredients)paper (packaging material)plastic (packaging material)Measurements: overall: 14 cm x 10.3 cm x .3 cm; 5 1/2 in x 4 1/16 in x 1/8 inoverall: 3/8 in x 5 1/2 in x 4 1/8 in; .9525 cm x 13.97 cm x 10.4775 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-9c81-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_730765

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