Mildred Thornton Stahlman, Pioneer in Neonatal Care, Dies at 101
Dr. Mildred Thornton Stahlman, a Vanderbilt University pediatrician whose research into fatal lung diseases in newborns led to life-saving treatments and the creation of one of the first neonatal intensive care units in 1961, died Saturday at her home in Brentwood , Tennessee. She was 101 years old.His death was confirmed by Eva Hill, wife of Dr. Stahlman's nephew, George Hill.On October 31, 1961, Dr. Stahlman placed a gasping premature baby into a miniature iron lung machine, also known as a negative-pressure ventilator, of the kind used for children with polio. The machine worked by opening the baby's fragile chest muscles to help draw in air. The child survived.That initial success, along with the results of Dr. Stahlman's studies on newborn lambs, helped launch a new era ...