Mildred T. Stahlman: a centenarian who pioneered modern scientific neonatal intensive care

Abstract

Neonatology pioneer Mildred (Millie) T. Stahlman celebrated her 100th birthday on July 31, 2022. Her distinguished career at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, is reviewed to commemorate this milestone. Stahlman was arguably the first to establish a modern neonatal intensive care unit in 1961, successfully utilizing negative pressure ventilation and umbilical arterial and venous catheters to monitor blood gasses and pH levels. She received early invaluable training in newborn physiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, under John Lind and Petter Karlberg, and at Vanderbilt under Elliot V. Newman. Stahlman also consulted with luminaries Geoffrey Dawes, Donald Barron, and L. Stanley James. As director of the Vanderbilt NICU, she trained 80 fellows from more than 20 countries. The latter 20 years of her career were highlighted by collaborations with Jeff Whitsett. She was the recipient of the AAP Virginia Apgar Award, the APS John Howland Medal, and served as a member of the Institute of Medicine.