The Museum of Art and Design (MAD) in New York is presenting "Designing Motherhood: Things that Make and Break our Births," an exhibition curated by Elizabeth Koehn that examines fertility and parenthood through over 250 objects, including mass-market items, medical devices, design notes, archival letters, and video. The show features artifacts such as hospital baby blankets, 17 historical pessaries, 12 IUDs, and the Del Em menstrual extraction tool from 1971, alongside clips from the 1952 film "All My Babies" featuring midwife Mary Coley. The exhibition defines motherhood capaciously, not limited to one sex or gender or to biological childbearing, and also addresses choosing to delay or forgo parenthood.
The exhibition matters because it transforms mundane, deeply personal objects into historical and social artifacts that reveal how design reifies and can destabilize social arrangements around birth and parenting. By inviting viewers to reflect on their own experiences—whether of joy, grief, regret, or hope—the show honors the multitude of relationships to fertility, birthing, and parenting. Its inclusive framing and emotional resonance make it a profound cultural commentary on a universal yet intensely individual human experience.