Michael Obladen: Promoter of Clinical, Scientific, and Academic Neonatology in Germany and Europe.

Background: Little is known about medical research at the Vienna Foundling Hospital during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Summary: The present paper focuses on nutrition, medical care, and research concerning newborn infants. In 1784, Emperor Joseph II merged obstetric and foundling hospitals under common leadership with specific statutes.

"Flux in the Belly:" A History of Infantile Gastroenteritis.

Neonatology

September 2024

Department of Neonatology, Charité University Medicine, Berlin, Germany.

Article Synopsis

Historically, infant diarrhea was a major cause of mortality, with beliefs attributing it to artificial feeding, teething, and heat, while breastfed infants seemed less affected.
Research in the past distinguished between different grades of the disease and identified chronic diarrhea leading to severe complications like dehydration and emaciation; however, it was only around the mid-20th century that connections to bacterial infections were more clearly recognized.
Despite discovering the bacterial origins of infant diarrhea in the 1860s, meaningful hygienic changes took decades to implement due to biases favoring raw milk, which slowed the acceptance of pasteurization and food safety measures.

For Exposed and Deserted Young Children: Research at the London Foundling Hospital.

Neonatology

June 2024

Department of Neonatology, Charité University Medicine, Berlin, Germany.

Article Synopsis

The London Foundling Hospital, established in 1741 through the efforts of Thomas Coram and King George II, initially admitted fewer than 100 infants annually but experienced a surge to 4,000 during the Seven Years' War starting in 1756.
While not originally intended for research, it became a significant site for studying infant health, with prominent physicians investigating common illnesses and infant care practices.
The research conducted revealed systematic approaches to infant care, highlighting issues like swaddling and nutrition, and included important advancements in smallpox inoculation, shaped by the absence of parental influence.

Ola Didrik Saugstad Neena Modi Corrado Moretti Michael Obladen Maximo Vento

Newborns and Children in War and Terror.

Neonatology

April 2024

Department of Pediatrics, University of Wurzburg, Wurzburg, Germany.

Neonatal Research at the Archiospedale Santo Spirito in Rome.

Neonatology

December 2023

Department of Neonatology, Charité University Medicine, Berlin, Germany.

Abandoning infants was a heritage of the Roman Empire. Foundling hospitals were established in Italy earlier and in greater number than in other countries; their goal was to prevent infanticides. The Foundling Hospital in Rome, established in the Santo Spirito Church in 1204, paved the way toward modern hospital care and child protection.