12 Things Invented by Women That Moms Swear By

When changing your child's diaper, you probably don't take a moment to thank Marion Donovan, but you should. After the birth of her second child, she was tired of coming into the nursery and finding a soggy diaper and damp sheets due to a leak. So she set out to create a waterproof diaper that didn't cause diaper rash like rubber diaper pants did. She started crafting a more breathable diaper cover out of waterproof shower curtains, moved on to nylon parachute material, and finally settled on creating a waterproof diaper cover out of nylon that could be stuffed with absorbent paper and fastened with snaps rather than safety pins to make it safer. She called it the Boater. But when Marion tried to sell it to manufacturers, she was repeatedly turned down.

Not one to take no for an answer, Marion struck a deal with Saks Fifth Avenue, which began selling the Boater in 1949. Two years later, she patented the invention and began work designing the first truly disposable diaper. She never found a manufacturer willing to make the throwaway diaper — the men at the companies didn't find it necessary. But 10 years later, Proctor and Gamble did introduce an all-in-one disposable diaper.

Not many women have heard of Patsy Sherman, but they've likely thanked her many times over the years. A 3M chemist, Patsy was one of the only women in her field in 1952. She worked on fluorochemicals and was charged with developing a new form of rubber for jet fuel lines. But when some rubber spilled on an assistant's shoe and wouldn't come off, all of that changed. The rubber stain repelled water, oil, and other liquids without changing the color of fabric. 3M ultimately named the product Scotchguard, and parents everywhere have joyfully filled their homes with adult furniture ever since.

While Adeline D.T. Whitney probably wouldn't view herself as a pioneer (in the late 1800s, she wrote antisuffragist books that touted her belief that a woman's place was in the home), she invented something found in most homes and schools across the nation: wooden alphabet blocks. Today the blocks — originally a wooden cube with colorful letters and symbols on them — come in various sizes and materials, and one from her original set, patented in 1882, sits in the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Before Rebecca Matthias entered the maternity-wear market, clothing for expectant moms pretty much consisted of muumuus. In 1982, while searching for maternity clothes she could wear to work, Rebecca was struck by the lack of options for professional women. Determined to fix that, she started a catalog called Mothers Work. After a few bumps along the road, the company took off in the form of three retail chains — Mimi Maternity, Motherhood Maternity, and Pea in the Pod — that made maternity wear accessible to women everywhere at every price point.

You can thank Christine Moss for keeping your floors clean and your tots' tummies full. While pregnant with her second child, she was tired of her toddler's snacks constantly spilling on the floor. So she gathered up some heavy vinyl, a hot glue gun, and a tot-sized cup to invent the Snack Trap — a tip-proof cup that little fingers can reach into for a snack. After testing several prototypes at a local day care center, the product was born, and moms everywhere breathed a sigh of relief that they didn't have to bend down every two minutes.

Here's an invention we all can appreciate. In the 1880s, Josephine Cochrane was dismayed when her household servants chipped her heirloom china while washing it by hand, and when she tried to do it herself, she realized there must be a better way. She was determined to develop a machine that could do it faster and more safely. Working in the shed behind her house with a local mechanic, she created the first dishwashing machine. She built wire compartments based on the size of the plates, cups, and saucers. Those compartments were placed in a wheel inside copper boiler. When a motor was turned on, the wheel turned and soapy water jetted onto the dishes. Josephine received the patent for the machine in 1886 and went on to sell them to hotels and restaurants. It wasn't until the 1950s that homes were designed with the time-saving machines, something every busy parent can truly appreciate.