Loestrin 1.5/30 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)

Parke-Davis and Company of Detroit, Michigan, produced this Loestrin 21 1.5/30 brand oral contraceptive around 1974. The packaging of the Loestrin features a photograph of a young woman. To maintain the routine of taking a daily pill, many manufacturers began including a fourth week of pills that were supplements or inert. This Loestrin regimen contains 28 pills, including 7 tablets that were iron supplements. Included is a packet entitled “What you should know about ‘the pill.’” The pills came in a white plastic compact case decorated with a raised floral design.

Date Made: ca 1974

Maker: Parke, Davis and Company

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Michigan, Detroit

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: 1981.0760.031Accession Number: 1981.0760Catalog Number: 1981.0760.031

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

Physical Description: norethindrone acetate, 1.5 mg (drug active ingredients)ethinyl estradiol, 30 mcg. (drug active ingredients)ferrous fumarate, 75 mg (drug active ingredients)Measurements: overall: 8.4 cm x 13.7 cm x 1.5 cm; 3 5/16 in x 5 13/32 in x 19/32 inoverall, box: 3 1/4 in x 5 3/8 in x 5/8 in; 8.255 cm x 13.6525 cm x 1.5875 cmoverall, pill case: 2 3/4 in x 4 1/2 in x 3/8 in; 6.985 cm x 11.43 cm x .9525 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-9063-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_730782

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.