Loestrin 21 1.5/30 Oral Contraceptive
date: label: date made
content: ca 1976
name: label: maker
content: Parke, Davis and Company
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: 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.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Parke-Davis and Company of Detroit, Michigan, produced this Loestrin 21 1.5/30 brand oral contraceptive around 1976. This Loestrin 21-pill starter pack consists of a folder with a large photograph of a mammalian ovulation on the cover with the question, “How much estrogen does it really take to control nature?” The inside of the folder has a quote from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists saying that less than 50 micrograms of estrogen can be used when combined with a stronger progestin. The other interior side of the folder promotes this lower 30-microgram dose of estrogen, available in 21-and 28-day regimens. A light green Petipac pill dispenser attached to the front of the folder that a profile image of a girl embossed on the lid. The Petipac contains a blister pack with three rows of seven green pills.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Michigan, Detroit
topic: label: Subject
content: Birth Control/Contraception
label: Subject
content: Women's Health
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Health & Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Birth Control
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Gladys Abell and Lester D. Johnson, Jr., M.D.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1981.0760.030
label: accession number
content: 1981.0760
label: catalog number
content: 1981.0760.030
objectType: label: Object Name
content: contraceptive
label: Object Name
content: contraceptive, oral
label: Other Terms
content: contraceptive; Contraceptives; Patent Medicines; Drugs; Non-Liquid
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: norethindrone acetate, 1.5 mg (drug active ingredients)
label: Physical Description
content: ethinyl estradiol, 30 mcg (drug active ingredients)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (packaging material)
label: Physical Description
content: foil (packaging material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (folder and leaflet material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: folder: 28 cm x 23 cm; 11 in x 9 1/16 in
label: Measurements
content: tablet dispenser: 9.1 cm x 6.4 cm x .8 cm; 3 9/16 in x 2 1/2 in x 5/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall, display: 11 in x 8 in x 1/8 in; 27.94 cm x 20.32 cm x .3175 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall, packet: 2 1/2 in x 3 5/8 in x 1/4 in; 6.35 cm x 9.2075 cm x .635 cm