A bizarre bit of NICU history

Specialties NICU

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i've been doing a bit of reading, trying to get myself ready for an interview i have requested with a nicu nurse manager (sent the letter yesterday), and i found this incredible bit of history. pierre budin, the doctor who first initiated special care for premature infants did so in france. however, premie care spread to europe and then to the us in a most unorthodox manner.

the first nicu-like units in germany, england, and new york were built as exhibits connected to carnivals, fairs, and expositions. :balloons: one of budin's proteges, martin couney, combined his desire to demonstrate the new science and equipment for other doctors with a bit of pt barnum showmanship. to that end, he created special nursery buildings with viewing windows for the curious to see the tiny babies. he called the buildings "child hatcheries." :eek: they were a big sensation as premies who actually lived were a novelty. also, they were in glass incubators (previous models had been made out of wood with only a small glass area near the head) so people could actually see how tiny they were. crowds reacted as if they were looking at an alien race.

at first, local hospitals rejected couney's requests to provide babies for the hatcheries. sounds like the only reasonable response, doesn't it? ah, but here's the kicker. he imported babies from willing hospitals and the kiddos did extremely well. and couney didn't charge the hospitals or the parents a penny. everything came out of the admission proceeds.

he might have been a huckster of sorts but his premies had an 81% survival rate. :) his own daughter was a 28-weeker. she grew up to be one of his neonatal nurses. :nurse:

when i read this, i imagined the phenomenon of babies on display would have lost it's dazzle after a couple of years but couney had an exhibit (and sometimes two) at coney island for forty years. the premie sideshow ended just before the us entered wwii.

for all it's weirdness, this showcasing of wee ones did get people believing that premies could survive and recover. and it got the attention of the medical world who could no longer write off premature infants as hopeless cases.

some of you probably knew this story, but i had never heard of it. i'm still kind of floored by the idea. don't anyone tell the hmos :nono: or they'll buy up a fleet of deluxe winnebagos and start booking county fairs.

miranda f.

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I read the book "Baby ER" a few years ago and it gives a good history of NICU, including the story you mentioned.

Pretty strange, huh?

steph

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

I agree, that was bizarre!

But fascinating! Thanks for sharing!

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Specializes in NICU.

I've also read "The Hatbox Baby" by Carrie Brown, which is about a baby who was born at home and the midwife put him in a box and sent the father to the World's Fair, because she said there was a doctor there who would be the only one who could help that child.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/042518465X/qid=1106320454/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-6828239-5808736?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

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Hatbox Baby is based on these exhibitions and is historically accurate. Very good read!

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Makes me think of the Dionne quints in Canada in the 30's. On public display and restricted parental visitation....

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Stevielynn, you're right. Baby ER is the book this information came from.

I remember reading about the Dionne quintuplets and being a bit scandalized that they'd been turned into an exhibit. Having learned about the "child hatcheries," I can see where it might have seemed like a good idea at the time. Their poor parents were overwhelmed (they had something like six other kids) and they were intially grateful when the Canadian government stepped in and offered to create a special facility in which to raise the babies. It was built across the road from the family but the staff discouraged the parents from visiting their children. As simple farmers, they were probably considered unsanitary.

The Canadian government made a tourist attraction out of what they called Quintland, complete with viewing windows and fenced-in playground. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Children's Zoo." Quintland raked in a bundle over the years. I wonder if the family ever saw any of that money. What creeps me out about the Dionnes is that they were put on display for years. Then, when they were sneaking up on adolescence and were no longer cute and profitable, they were packed up and sent to live with their--by now--thoroughly estranged family. All five of them suffered the effects of this in their adulthood.

I just ordered "Hatbox Baby." Thanks, Gompers, for suggesting it.

Miranda F.

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Hi everyone! The website Neonatology on the Web. http://www.neonatology.com has some great pictures in their Diversions and Classics section. It has pictures of nurses and preemies at Coney Island, etc Check it out:

http://www.neonatology.com/pinups/coneyislandnurses.html

http://www.neonatology.com/pinups/omaha.html

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Wow, great photos, thanks.

BUT, did you notice those nurses in white? And some folks want to go back to those days and wear white and caps???? :chuckle

steph

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Hi everyone! The website Neonatology on the Web. http://www.neonatology.com has some great pictures in their Diversions and Classics section. It has pictures of nurses and preemies at Coney Island, etc Check it out:

http://www.neonatology.com/pinups/coneyislandnurses.html

http://www.neonatology.com/pinups/omaha.html

Thanks so much for the info. I couldn't get the links to work. Went to the pinup site manually and found tons of great pictures, including links to the Dionne quints. Very interesting.

Thanks,

Miranda F.

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