There was a time in U.S. history when certain babies were deemed not being good enough to give care to, premature babies, known as preemies. It’s a true, horrifying fact that, luckily, is no longer the case in the U.S.
But at one time, hospitals wouldn’t treat preemies because they weren’t strong enough to belong in the world, according to the philosophy of the era. But one man helped save 6,500 preemies at the time. He was a fake doctor named Martin Couney. Here’s the whole story …
Who is Martin Couney?
Martin Couney claimed he was a doctor who studied under Pierre-Constant Budin, a French doctor who sought to improve the health of newborns. Budin also helped design incubators for premature babies. But Couney’s claims could never be verified. So, it seems he may not have been a real doctor after all.
Preemie babies shown as side-show attractions
While Couney started out displaying his incubators in 1986 at the Berlin Expo, he eventually made his way to the U.S. in 1903. It was then that he created his sideshow that featured preemie babies in incubators. The show lasted until the early 1940s.
While this entire situation seemed quite underhanded, it’s said that Couney saved the lives of 6,500 preemies by including them in his “attraction.” How? He would charge 25 cents for interested onlookers to see the babies. Then he used part of that money to treat and care for the babies.
The ‘incubator doctor’
Dubbed the “incubator doctor,” Couney’s sideshow attraction did bring in a big audience because it dealt with the life-and-death struggle of babies. It’s said that his “show,” was one of the most popular attractions in Coney Island in New York.
The treatment provided to the babies was said to cost about $15 each day for each incubator. That would equal about $400 per day in current times.
“The babies were lined up under heaters, and they breathed filtered air. Few of them weighed more than three pounds. They shared the Boardwalk there on Coney Island with Violetta the Armless Legless Wonder, Princess WeeWee, Ajax the Sword-Swallower and all the rest. From 1903 until the early 1940s, premature infants in incubators were part of the carnival,” according to The New York Times.
Cutting-edge incubators
The incubators were considered cutting-edge at the time. Some called them “medical miracles.” They were made from glass and steel, and they sat atop five-foot-tall legs. “Hot water was supplied by a boiler on the outside, to a bed of mesh on which the baby slept,” according to Bored Panda.
Couney was also a stickler for a smoke- and drink-free environment. He reportedly fired any nurse who broke those rules.
Couney faces scorn
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Even though Couney did end up saving thousands of preemies from certain death, he was shunned by “legitimate doctors.”
“The doctor was shunned as an unseemly showman in his time, even as he was credited with popularizing incubators and saving thousands of babies. History did not know what to do; he was inspired and single-minded, distasteful and heroic, ultimately confounding,” according to The New York Times.
In the end, it didn’t stop Couney from his mission: to save babies the “legitimate medical community” was ignoring. Couney died in 1950 at 80 years old.
