Helen B. Taussig (1898-1986) was one of the most renowned and distinguished doctors of the 20th century. Though she faced numerous challenges, she persevered to produce a legacy of work that has saved countless lives.
Helen B. Taussig (1898-1986) was one of the most renowned and distinguished doctors of the 20th century. Though she faced numerous challenges, she persevered to produce a legacy of work that has saved countless lives.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. And this is Womanica.
Today we’re talking about one of the most renowned and distinguished doctors of the 20th century. Though she faced numerous challenges, she persevered to produce a legacy of work that has saved countless lives. Let’s talk about Helen B. Taussig.
Helen Brooke Taussig was born May 24, 1898 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her father, Frank W. Taussig, was an established economist and professor at Harvard University. Helen’s mother, Edith Guild, was among the first to study at the new Radcliffe College – an institution for women.
Growing up with well-educated parents likely set the stage for her future academic career. But Helen’s educational journey wasn’t always easy. She struggled with dyslexia as a child which greatly impacted her performance in school. And, when she was only 11 years old, her mother passed away from tuberculosis.
Helen’s father extensively tutored her in reading, writing, spelling, and math. She graduated from the Cambridge School for Girls in 1917, and went on to graduate from the University of California at Berkeley in 1921. Though reading remained a challenge, she excelled academically.
Helen wanted to attend medical school in Boston – however, in the 1920’s, both Harvard and Boston University refused to admit women into their medical programs. She adjusted her plans and found the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. When reflecting on this moment, Helen said “It was one of those times in life when what seemed to be disappointment...later proved to be a great opportunity.”
Johns Hopkins would become Helen’s academic home for the rest of her career. After earning her MD in 1927, she was appointed a fellow the Heart Station before interning in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
In 1930, Dr. Edwards Park, the Chair of Pediatrics at Hopkins, and one of Helen’s closest advisors and mentors, appointed her as physician-in-charge of one of the first pediatric cardiac clinics.
At this point, Helen was only 31 years old with plenty of room left to grow in her promising career – but she was already facing her next challenge. She was losing her hearing, a crucial requirement to assess patients’ heartbeats.
Helen came to rely on hearing aids and lip-reading. She also developed a completely unique skill: feeling a baby’s heartbeat with her fingers. Her ability to detect the rhythms of the heart by touch gave rise to some of her later innovations in pediatric cardiology.
Helen is perhaps best known for her work on “blue baby” syndrome – an often fatal condition that causes a newborn’s skin to look blue, due to lack of oxygen to the heart. Using a new x-ray technique, Helen discovered that babies suffering from this syndrome had an underdeveloped artery connecting the heart to the lungs, and a leaking heart wall.
In 1941, while discussing this condition with her colleagues Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, Helen suggested an operation that might fix the problem. Though it was a challenging and delicate concept, Alfred and Vivien knew it was worth a shot.
After extensive practice on dog hearts, Alfred performed the operation on an infant for the first time in 1944, with close support from Helen.
The procedure initially worked, however, the child passed away in a followup surgery two months later.
Helen and her colleagues soldiered on, and soon after performed two successful procedures. They published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1945. The technique, now called the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt, was adopted worldwide. Within a year, it was used to save over 200 children’s lives at Johns Hopkins.
Helen’s vital contributions to medical research didn’t end there. She also played a key role in understanding how the drug Thalidomide causes severe, and often deadly, birth defects.
In the 1960’s, Helen learned about an epidemic of severe defects in limb development across Europe. She traveled to Germany to help research the situation.Helen found a link between the defects and Thalidomide, which pregnant women were taking to combat morning sickness. She returned home, published her findings, and testified about the dangers of the drug in front of Congress.
Thanks to Helen’s testimony and research, the FDA disallowed the sale of Thalidomide. Congress passed an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that required stricter oversight for clinical studies.
In 1963, Helen officially retired from her position at Johns Hopkins – but she nonetheless continued her research and advocacy for pediatric cardiology. She published 40 more articles after her retirement.
Over the course of her life, Helen received numerous honors and awards. She was one of the first women to receive full professorship at Johns Hopkins, earned the prestigious Lasker Award, and was elected the first woman president of the American Heart Association. She even received the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
On May 21, 1986, Helen Brooke Taussig was killed in a car accident, three days before she turned 88.
All month, we’re honoring women who changed the landscape of health and wellness.
For more information and pictures of some of the work we’re talking about, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!