(Oregon Right to Life) — A pioneer in the field of neonatal healthcare passed away late last month after a rich career characterized by love and dedication. She is remembered for her tireless commitment to advancing life-saving care for premature infants, especially those with lung disease.
Mildred T. Stahlman, MD, founder of Vanderbilt University’s Division of Neonatology, died June 29 at 101 years old, according to Vanderbilt University’s news site, VUMC News.
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“Dr. Stahlman was pioneering in so many ways,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, according to the July 1 article. “Refusing to accept the poor outcomes of babies born prematurely, she forged new methods to support their survival while upending the field of neonatology. Throughout her life, she generously supported numerous programs and services that have advanced our mission.”
“Forever an aggressive advocate for the tiny babies she dedicated her life to saving, Dr. Stahlman set the standard for generations of neonatologists at Vanderbilt and throughout the world to follow,” Balser added, according to the report.
In a separate 2005 report, VUMC News observed that Dr. Stahlman was committed to excellence, ensuring that all of the people with whom she worked would always “assess and treat the fragile babies in their care in a precise and intellectually rigorous manner.”
Named in her honor, Vanderbilt University Hospital’s “Stahlman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit” operated for over four decades and “was one of the first modern neonatal intensive care units in the world,” per the July VUMC News report. And though the unit “transitioned” last year, its “name and mission” are continued in “the new Stahlman Suite, a four-bed, 850-square-foot resuscitation unit in VUMC just steps from the original Stahlman NICU.”
As early as the 1950s, Stahlman and her colleagues were experimenting with technology to use as ventilators for premature infants, per VUMC News. In 1961, Stahlman was instrumental in saving the life of a premature baby born “gasping for breath” and suffering from “severe hyaline membrane disease.” Stahlman placed the baby, named Martha, into a “negative pressure breathing machine” with the permission of the child’s parents. Seen as a “bold experiment” at the time, per a 2004 report by VUMC News, the “experiment” paid off.
Martha survived and now works as a nurse in Vanderbilt University’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Throughout her career, Dr. Stahlman “helped regionalize newborn intensive care services in Tennessee, and she trained generations of physician-scientists from around the world” beginning in the 1970s, VUMC News reported. She was a member of the Institute of Medicine, previously served as president of the American Pediatrics Society, and has received numerous awards.
For Stahlman, her career was a passion project. In speaking about her work, she exuded a spirit of humility and a dedication to caring for others.
“Many people did much more than I did,” Stahlman said, according to the 2005 report. “My idea of science is that everything is built on the backs of somebody else.”
“What I would hope that I could convince you of is that if you are ever going to practice medicine, the first thing you have to learn is charity,” Stahlman once told students, according to the 2024 article. “What is charity? Charity is unqualified love.”
The advancement of modern medical techniques to resuscitate and sustain premature infants has been linked to decreased rates of infant mortality in the U.S. in recent decades.
Read the original VUMC News article about Dr. Stahlman here.
