After becoming pregnant this spring , I quickly realized this wouldn’t just be a journey of my body and emotions—it would also be a journey of stuff. Well-meaning loved ones sent me long lists of my must-have items and shared strong opinions about what brands I needed for my baby to live her best life. As an eco-conscious, minimalist New Yorker living on a tight budget in a tiny Manhattan apartment, this freaked me out almost as much as the prospect of birth itself.

That’s why when I heard about the new exhibit “Designing Motherhood: Things that Make and Break Our Births” at Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle, I knew I had to go see it. The fascinating exhibition covers 150 years of how design has affected everything from menstruation to motherhood to menopause—and how all

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