U.S. National Institutes of Health

Ethel Collins Dunham, MD — public health, pediatric medicine

Courtesy Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University

Dr. Ethel Collins Dunham (1883–1969) and her life-partner, Martha May Eliot devoted their lives to the care of children. Dunham focused on premature babies and newborns, becoming chief of child development at the Children’s Bureau in 1935. She established national standards for the hospital care of newborn children, and expanded the scope of health care for growing youngsters by monitoring their progress in regular home visits by Children’s Bureau staff.

Read more about Dr. Ethel Collins Dunham.

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