I got this off MSN Lifestyles, an Article by Jennifer Graham Kizer, about 92 years of motherhood.
THE FIRST MOTHER'S DAY (May 1914)
President Woodrow Wilson designates the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day, calling it "a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."
THE EPIDURAL (1930s)
Before John Bonica, M.D., invented the epidural block, relief for the pains of labor meant being knocked out. Today, women can be awake for the momentous occasion that is birth.
THE COMMON SENSE BOOK OF BABY AND CHILD CARE (1946)
Once upon a time, doctors (mostly men) preached a strict, one-size-fits-all approach to raising children. Pediatrician Benjamin Spock gave moms permission — revolutionary at the time — to trust their own instincts. Since then, Dr. Spock's guide has sold more copies worldwide than any other book besides the Bible.
FOLIC ACID (1940s)
A groundbreaking medical discovery: This nutrient helps prevent birth defects. In 1998, food companies begin using it to enrich bread, pasta, and other cereal grains. Birth defects of the brain and spinal cord drop by 26 percent.
LUCILLE BALL'S PREGNANCY (1952)
The star's pregnancy is written into I Love Lucy — a TV first. Scripts are reviewed by a priest, a minister, and a rabbi, and CBS insists on using the word "expecting" instead of "pregnant." But fans love it, and the episode featuring Lucy's delivery sets a new ratings record.
LA LECHE LEAGUE (1956)
At a time when formula was très fashionable, seven determined moms banded together to create a breast-feeding support network. Today, LLL boasts more than 7,000 volunteers dedicated to educating and supporting (and, okay, sometimes annoying) women in the nursing process.
ARE YOU MY MOTHER? (1960)
The book summed up our love for our mothers — and every child's longing to belong to someone. That message of mother love still rings true for moms and kids today.
DISPOSABLE DIAPERS (1960s)
Invented in the 1950s, they weren't widely available until 1961, when Pampers were introduced. No more diaper pins!
JFK'S FUNERAL (1963)
The endlessly reproduced photo of stoic widow Jackie Kennedy with her young children, Caroline and JFK Jr., is now a classic image of maternal strength and grace.
THE EAR THERMOMETER (1964)
It makes taking temperatures faster and more comfortable than the anal alternative — for both moms and babies!
The BREAST PUMP (1960s)
Even after mom goes back to work, babies can still have breast milk. and now dads can help feed the baby, too!
HUSBAND-COACHED CHILDBIRTH (1965)
Robert Bradley's book was an influential first step in opening the delivery-room door to dads. (In 1973, only 27 percent of hospitals even allowed fathers to be in the delivery room; today, it's taken for granted that Pop will be in on the birth.)
SONOGRAMS (1960s)
Doctors begin monitoring babies just weeks after conception. Nowadays, mothers can even order a sonogram in 3-D. No more waiting for the birth to wonder, "Does he have his dad's nose or mine?"
ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)
No matter how colicky your newborn seems, Rosemary's baby is worse. Which is oddly comforting.
911 (1960s)
When the government calls for an easy, universal emergency phone number, AT&T suggests 911. Even a child can remember it — last December a 4-year-old girl in Salt Lake City used it to save her mom's life.
SESAME STREET (1969)
Designed to help preschoolers transition from home to school, it was the first children's educational show of its kind. And it's arguably still the best.
1970s
SHIRLEY PARTRIDGE (1970)
The Partridge Family's Shirley Jones plays TV's ultimate single mom — so cool, she's in a band with her kids.
FREE TO BE...YOU AND ME (1972)
Marlo Thomas's children's album (and TV special and book) helps moms teach their daughters to be strong and their sons to be caring — and all kids (and parents) to be a little more open-minded.
RISE OF MIDWIFERY
Even if natural childbirth isn't for you, the increase in midwife-attended births (up 13-fold since 1975) has led a broader trend toward a woman-centered approach to birth — and more choices, from at-home water births to "walking" epidurals, for all moms-to-be.
FLEXTIME (1973)
Hewlett-Packard (the computer and electronics company) is the first to institute flexible working hours, or flextime, letting moms schedule work around their kids, and not vice versa.
THE FIRST HOME PREGNANCY TEST (1977)
The test takes two hours and includes a test tube, a medicine dropper, and premeasured ingredients to be mixed together — a far cry from today's pee-on-a-stick technology!
MOMPRENEUR MRS. FIELDS (1977)
Debbi Fields — a young mom with no business experience — opens her first cookie store. Today Mrs. Fields has more than 650 stores in the U.S. and is an inspiration to mompreneurs everywhere.
IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (1978)
Louise Brown, the first "test tube baby," is born in England. Since then, over a million children have been conceived through IVF.
MOMMIE DEAREST
The book (1978) and cult-film classic (1981) feed our fascination with the Bad Mother, and demonstrate how not to raise kids (making us feel a little better about how we do).
NICKELODEON (1979)
Kids get their own network! In 1999, Nick sprouts Noggin, a kid-sister network of educational shows for preschoolers. For moms, that means two TV safe zones.
1980s
MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING (1980)
When her daughter is killed by a drunk driver, California mom Candy Lightner turns anger into activism by starting MADD. Thanks in part to MADD's efforts, alcohol-related traffic deaths have dropped by 44 percent.
BIKINI-BABE PRINCESS DIANA (FEBRUARY 1982)
After the pregnant princess is photographed on vacation, the Queen declares it to be "the blackest day in the history of British journalism." (We thought she looked pretty good!)
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING (1984) begins its reign as the most loved — and loathed — parenting guide in America. Some swear by it; others say it reads like a worst-case-scenario guide to pregnancy.
ROSEANNE BARR (1985)
No more striving for Donna Reed perfection: "As a housewife, I feel that if the kids are still alive when my husband gets home from work, then, hey, I've done my job." (We wouldn't go that far, but we were relieved all the same.)
KID-FRIENDLY VACATION RESORTS
Select Club Med resorts offer children's clubs, babysitters for hire, even circus school. Beaches resorts offer an array of kids' activities — led by Sesame Street characters! At last, we can get away from it all — together.
CLAIR HUXTABLE
On The Cosby Show, Phylicia Rashad plays a sexy wife, successful attorney — and one of our all-time favorite TV moms.
WARNING LABELS ON MUSIC (1985)
Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center pressure the recording industry to label albums containing explicit lyrics, allowing parents to know just how grown-up their kids are trying to be.
BABY BOOM (1987)
Some say the movie is anti-working woman. Others applaud its honesty. Either way, Diane Keaton's performance strikes a nerve and defines an era.
TAX-FREE COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS
Today, all 50 states have programs to help parents save for college. (Too bad no one's giving matching funds, too.)
MARGE SIMPSON (1989)
A typical Marge-ism: "Bart, don't use the Touch of Death on your sister." Who hasn't been there?
1990s
THE RISE OF TELECOMMUTING
By 2004, more than 44 million people are working from outside the office — great news for moms who want to work and be close to their kids, too.
ERASABLE CRAYONS! (1992)
Need we say more?
DAN QUAYLE VS. MURPHY BROWN (MAY 1992)
Vice President Quayle accuses the TV character of glamorizing single motherhood. Murphy fires back, defending all nontraditional families in a later episode of the sitcom.
HAIL THE INTERNET!
Planning playdates, helping with book reports, finding sisters in diaperdom and postpartum blues — it all gets easier. (Not to mention back-to-school shopping in the middle of the night!)
"NANNYGATE" (FEBRUARY 1993)
Zoe Baird, then Kimba Wood withdraw their names as nominees for attorney general after both admit to employing illegal immigrants to care for their children. The news ignites a national conversation about nannies and child care — one that's still going on today.
THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (AUGUST 1993)
Now all working moms (and dads!) can get up to three months of unpaid, job-protected time off after giving birth or adopting — plus health benefits.
ANTI-SIDS "BACK TO SLEEP" CAMPAIGN (1994)
Fewer babies sleeping on their stomachs means fewer deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Rates of SIDS have dropped more than 50 percent.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE (1996)
Hillary Rodham Clinton may be controversial, but her book's message isn't: Kids need loving parents, but they also need safe neighborhoods, nutritious school lunches, and good health care.
PREGNANCY OVER 40
Thanks to advances in fertility treatments (like the use of donor eggs), more older women are giving birth. Two recent examples: Elizabeth Edwards — wife of vice presidential candidate John Edwards — hit the campaign trail with kids she gave birth to at ages 48 and 50. And in 2004, 48-year-old Geena Davis gives birth to twins.
"SOCCER MOMS" (1996)
The term is first used in a political context by Susan Casey, a Denver City Council candidate who describes herself as a soccer mom, but it is later popularized during the 1996 presidential election. Suddenly, both parties realize they need to woo a powerful voting bloc: young moms with kids. Well, duh!
MEGAN'S LAW (1996)
After the rape and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka, Megan's mother campaigns for a change in the law to give parents access to information on pedophiles in their area.
BABY EINSTEIN VIDEOS AND DVDS (1997)
Babies get Beethoven — and moms get 30 consecutive, scream-free minutes to themselves.
LIZ LANGE'S MATERNITY LINE (FALL 1997)
Once upon a time, maternity wear meant floral frocks festooned with bows. Thanks to this Vogue fashion editor-turned-designer and the other hip maternity lines she inspired, pregnant women no longer have to dress like children.
THE MCCAUGHEY SEPTUPLETS (NOVEMBER 1997)
Mom Bobbi McCaughey is much admired. And not at all envied.
CHIC BABY BEDDING (LATE 1990s)
Pooh Bear sheets are no longer your only option, as elegant home design companies from Pottery Barn to Dwell begin creating modern, sophisticated lines for the nursery.
THE V-CHIP (1999) helps parents make sure kids stick to age-appropriate shows — even when Mom isn't in the room.
THE BUGABOO FROG STROLLER (1999)
Off-road tires. Suspension systems. Extra-smooth steering. Finally, baby gear your husband can get excited about. (Too bad it's priced like a Hummer.)
2000s
THE MILLION MOM MARCH (MOTHER'S DAY 2000)
At their first event, 750,000 people gather on the Mall in Washington, DC, to demand sensible gun laws. Seventy-five chapters around the country now work to educate the public and pass laws that protect children from gun violence.
THE KATE SPADE DIAPER BAG (2000)
A nylon tote worthy of Jackie O — with plenty of storage room and an oversize changing pad.
COED BABY SHOWERS
And why not? After all, parenting is a shared experience.
THE EMERGENCE — NO, MORE LIKE ERUPTION — OF MOM BLOGS
Moms are sharing, advising, and venting like never before. Check out the funny/frustrated mothers of fussy.org or dooce.com for a taste. (And don't forget the dad blogs, too!)
MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR JANE SWIFT (MAY 2001) becomes the first governor to give birth — to twins! — while in office. After her term ends, she says, "I believe I was a better governor because I had children, and I hope that someday my daughters will tell me that I was a better mother because I was governor."
COOL KIDS' MUSIC
With adult-friendly kids' CDs — like No! by They Might Be Giants and House Party by Dan Zanes — kids aren't the only ones dancing around the den.
PATRICIA HEATON'S POST-CESAREAN TUMMY TUCK
In 2002, the star confesses to having had plastic surgery, saying, "When women come up to me who've also had four kids and cesareans and say, 'My body's shot, but you look so great,' I'm not going to lie to them."
KAREN HUGHES'S RESIGNATION (APRIL 2002)
She leaves the White House for the sake of her family — then returns after her son graduates from high school. It's a noteworthy example of how a great career — and home life — don't have to happen in one straight line.
I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT (2002)
Ah, but we do know: You don't need poise to juggle work and motherhood — just a sense of humor.
ANOTHER STEP FORWARD FOR BREAST-FEEDING MOMS (2003)
Burger King now allows breast-feeding in all of its restaurants; moms have joined forces to campaign to get Starbucks to do the same (nurseatstarbucks.com).
MOM INVENTORS, INC. (2003)
Tamara Monosoff founds this California-based company whose products are by and for moms. Her latest product? Shoe Clues — durable stickers that teach children to put the right shoe on the right foot.
AMBER ALERTS (2003)
Named for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who in 1996 was kidnapped and killed near her home in Texas, this emergency broadcast system gets the message out when a child has been abducted. Amber Alerts have helped save more than 200 children nationwide.
REEL MOMS (2003)
No sitter? No problem. On Tuesday mornings at AMC theaters, parents and infants are welcome to see the latest movies. Lights are dimmed (not lowered completely) and sound levels are lower than usual so you can hear your baby.
GWYNETH PALTROW'S DAUGHTER, APPLE (MAY 2004)
Go ahead, name your kid whatever you want. If Gwynnie can do it....
BROOKE SHIELDS'S POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION (2005)
Following her 2003 revelation that she struggled with infertility and conceived her daughter, Rowan, through IVF, Brooke helps women talk honestly about yet another medical condition that was previously under wraps.
FELICITY HUFFMAN ON 60 MINUTES (JANUARY 2006)
After making us laugh on Desperate Housewives, she makes us sigh with relief at her honesty when she admits motherhood is hard — and that she doesn't always know if she's a good mom. Finally, a star who's not afraid to admit the truth about motherhood's challenges and joys.