Khaberni - At the dawn of the twentieth century, the German-origin American doctor, Martin Couney, saved thousands of premature infants from death, using a unique approach that was not inspired by hospitals, but rather by exhibitions, festivals, and global circus shows.
The birth of the "Incubators in Exhibitions" idea.
Dr. Couney gained his experience after facing the premature birth of a child with his nurse wife and realized the importance of providing necessary warmth, nutritional care, and human nurturing for survival.
Based on the foregoing, he decided to create rooms filled with incubators in public places such as the 1897 London Exhibition and the 1888 Nebraska Exhibition, promptly moving on to the Atlantic City and Coney Island Exhibitions in New York, making his show one of the most popular attractions among the public, despite being described as gruesome by some medical associations.
Controversy around the doctor
Couney claimed he studied medicine in Leipzig and Berlin and learned from Dr. Pierre-Constant Bodin in Paris, but there are no clear documented records confirming his official medical licensing in the United States.
With his project on premature children, Couney faced significant skepticism from the medical community; some said his statements about his training and credentials were vague or exaggerated, and he did not provide any documents from previous hospitals he had worked in, limiting himself to the incubator exhibitions, thus earning a reputation for mystery and controversy.
Despite scientific skepticism, the doctor managed to take several preterm infants from hospitals and parents' homes and place them in modern medical incubators of the time, turning his early medical exhibitions into a turning point in these children's lives, according to the "Metro" newspaper.
Dr. Martin Couney also aroused considerable controversy due to his blending of medical care and public display of premature infants in exhibitions and circuses, which many considered exploiting the infants to generate revenues from visitors.
He faced criticisms from child protection organizations, like the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and some medical articles in the Lancet magazine considered his show akin to displaying dolls or any commercial spectacle, causing the medical community to doubt his ethics and credibility.
Despite all difficulties, criticisms, and skepticism, his success was evident, as the survival rates of children treated in his incubators exceeded 85%, compared to about 10% in traditional hospitals, and all this without the families incurring any costs.
Medical success and public trust
The incubator exhibit at the 1933 Chicago World Fair attracted about 1,250,000 visitors, where some people would return weekly to follow the progress of their favorite child.
Apart from the controversial nature of the display, Couney relied on a medical team consisting of clinical nurses and nursemaids to care for the children, with strict attention to cleanliness and healthy nutrition, which helped maintain the children's safety.
After Couney's death, doctors who learned from his exhibitions transferred this knowledge to hospitals, helping to establish modern neonatal care in America, with Dr. Julius Hess being one of the most prominent figures inspired by this model, becoming a pioneer in American neonatal care.
Even today, those who survived through Couney's incubators and their families remember their extraordinary beginnings, viewing their experience as a mix of discomfort and pride at the same time, as they survived death thanks to a display that initially seemed just a circus, but was in fact a humane medical revolution.
