Ever since I saw a segment about this on Mysteries at the Museum, I’ve been intrigued by the story of the incubator babies at Coney Island.

This book is a great introduction to the story of the babies and the man who created the show to help thousands of babies. This books covers more than 50 years of the trials and successes Martin Couney had while trying to convince the world that premature babies were worth saving.

Highlights of the book include biographical history of Couney, the strict conditions he enforced and the detail of the operations for each of his exhibitions and stories of the folks who supported and worked for Couney. Surprises were how long and how far reaching Couney’s exhibitions of the baby incubators were. I also really liked the interviews with some of the babies who survived because of being placed into the care of Couney and his team.

I found this book through Amazon Prime Reading and read it quickly because it was hard to put down as this story had always intrigued me.
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Another great Kindle single, Miracle at Coney Island: How a Sideshow Doctor Saved Thousands of Babies and Transformed American Medicine takes a look at the true story of the "incubator doctor," Martin Couney.

Claire Prentice investigates the "incubator doctor" that setup infant incubators across America and in London from 1903 to 1943. Martin Couney's techniques and incubators were far ahead of his time and were responsible for saving thousands of premature infants and changing how the medical field viewed premature infants.

His educational background and professional references were, unfortunately, not what they appeared to be.

Under Literary Construction: Miracle at Coney Island ( )

This Kindle Single tells the fascinating story of Martin A. Couney (1870-1950), a German physician who trained under the noted French obstetrician Pierre-Constant Budin, one of the pioneers of perinatal medicine, the care of newborns. Budin succeeded Étienne Stéphane Tarnier as chief of the obstetrics department at the Hôpital Maternité in Paris in 1895, and he inherited the first infant incubators that were invented by Tarnier 15 years earlier to keep premature babies warm until they had enough body fat and were mature enough to regulate their body temperatures. The following year Budin sent Courney, his protégé (who was then Martin Cohen), along with six infant incubators, to Berlin, to demonstrate the use of these devices at the city's Industrial Exposition. The Kinderbrutanstalt (child hatchery) in Berlin consisted of accommodations for the nurses and physicians, a nursery, and the incubator room, in which visitors could view the "miracle babies", who generally weighed from 1200-2000 grams (2.6-4.4 lb), in the incubators, where they were kept until they reached a weight of at least six pounds (2.7 kg). The preemies in their metal and glass homes were visible to the public, but were separated from them by a guard rail and the medical staff, who were on hand to watch over the babies, and educate the public about them.

The Kinderbrutanstalt was a huge success, as this new technology and the very favorable outcomes of the preemies housed in incubators captured the attention of the public and the medical community, although the open display of these tiny babies outside of a hospital setting was met with disdain and distrust by many physicians. Cohen and an entrepreneurial friend of his decided to take their "act" to the Victorian Era Exhibition at Earl's Court in London in 1897, which was an even bigger success than Berlin was. In 1898 Cohen made his first trip to the United States, with a display of his incubators at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, which was followed by his participation in the World's Fairs in Paris in 1900 and Buffalo in 1901.

Cohen, who by this time had changed his name to Courney, finally settled down by moving to New York City, and with the support and blessing of another entrepreneurial friend, Fred Thompson, Couney opened an exhibition at the newly built Luna Park on Coney Island, where he was to remain for the next 40 years.

Although he was quite the showman and occasionally crossed paths with politicians and public health officials who were concerned about the health and safety of the "Boardwalk Babes", Couney maintained strict hygiene and discipline amongst his medical colleagues, and as a result of his excellent knowledge and top notch staff approximately 6500 babies who may have otherwise died were saved under his watchful eye, with a low overall mortality rate.

Claire Prentice has done an excellent job in her description of the history of the incubator babies and their benefactor, Martin Couney. In addition, her thorough research about the man provides some interesting insight into the man, and raises some interesting questions about his background. Miracle at Coney Island is a valuable addition to the history of medicine, and at 95 pages it's a quick and very enjoyable read. ( )