In addition to the difficulty of knowing the result, visually impaired women also found the packaging difficult to read and open and the absorbent tips too small. Photo: AFP Relaxnews
Any woman who has ever taken a pregnancy test can likely testify to the highly private, intimate nature of this particular act. However, for women who are visually impaired or blind, the task is more difficult.
Forced to ask for help, they are deprived of this privacy. In order to address this issue, the Royal National Institute of Blind People charity in London is introducing a prototype test specially designed for women who are visually impaired.
"Every woman has the right to know whether or not she is pregnant." This slogan, taken from a 1971 advertisement for English pregnancy test brand Predictor, is cited in the explanation by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), in order to highlight the fact that until the present "all tests rely on a visual results output."
A postulate that effectively excludes visually impaired and blind women, who are obliged to seek the assistance of a third party to find out the result of their pregnancy test.
"All spoke of how an important moment in their life had been made more difficult, and in some cases actually traumatic, for having to involve another person," noted independent product designer Josh Wasserman, who created the test and conducted a series of interviews with visually impaired women during the prototype development phase.
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