Designing Motherhood: Things That Make and Break Our Births

When was the menstrual cup created? And what will the future birthing chair look like? Designing Motherhood is an exhibition about how design has influenced human reproduction over the past 150 years to enable, facilitate, or prevent our arrival into the world.

The exhibition showcases both historical and contemporary, involved in the arc of human reproduction, ranging from menstrual cups, breast pumps, and baby monitors to medical tools and maternity clothing. While being born is a universal human experience, the designs that shape it are not. Designing Motherhood invites you to consider why and how we have developed designs to facilitate reproductive health, and to ponder the political, economic, and social implications of how we medicalize reproduction.

This exhibition is part of the Designing Motherhood project, which offers a unique perspective on human reproduction through the lens of design. Designing Motherhood consists of an award-winning publication (MIT Press, 2021), a travelling exhibition, an open-source curriculum, a public programme and an Instagram account. The project is organised by Juliana Rowen Barton, PhD, Michelle Millar Fisher, PhD (co-founder), Zoë Greggs, Gabriella Nelson and Amber Winick (co-founder). Over the years, it has been further developed with a range of partners, including Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Graham Foundation, Maternity Care Coalition, Neighborhood Birth Center and ArkDes. In Ghent, the exhibition is enriched by Design Museum Gent with both familiar and lesser-known Belgian objects and examples.