A Man Who Publicly Displayed Premature Babies For Cash

Martin Couney was a man who claimed he was a medical doctor. Nothing special, right? But what if I tell you he turned premature babies into sideshow attractions for people to visit and see as if it was a human zoo.

I know it sound cruel and weird, and you may want to shoot such a pitiless person at first sight, but hold on to your emotions till you read the whole story.

Back in the early 20th century, medicine wasn’t as sophisticated as it is now.

Neonatal incubators were not available or used in most hospitals, and there wasn’t much expertise on how to handle premature babies. Because of this, premature babies had fewer chances of survival.

Couney was an immigrant of German-Jewish descent whose family had a history of doctors. He had no medical education, but he claimed he did.

In the 1880s, baby incubators were first introduced in Paris. Couney settled in the US in 1903, and since most hospitals back then couldn’t take care of premature babies, Couney took care of some of them and turned his clinic into a sideshow exhibit.

Couney, recognized by all as the ‘Incubator Doctor,’ was known for public view for his amusement park sideshow, “The Infantorium,” in which visitors paid 25 cents to view prematurely born babies displayed in incubators.

The money collected was later used to take care of the babies and paying salaries to staff. Eventually, it became one of the most popular attractions on Coney Island.

People came from far to see premature babies kept in these “weird machines.” Some people even came regularly, as they wanted to watch the progress of some babies.

News of Couney and his work started spreading around. That eventually led him to be evaded by the medical world. Medical professionals thought of Couney as nothing more than a showman who made money off premature babies by turning them into sideshow attractions. (as per popular belief, Couney never charged the parents of these babies for taking care of them).

Medical professionals shunned him, and there were many attempts made to shut down his exhibits. People started protesting against Couney and accused him of “using those poor little sick babies for money.”

These protests never deterred Couney. He told the media that he would only stop when there was sufficient care being provided to the premature babies by the hospitals.

Couney had two baby exhibits in Coney Island; one was in Luna Park, and another in Dreamland. His medical team comprised wet nurses and trained medical technicians, including his daughter — a nurse.

Couney used incubators made of steel and glass. The hot water boiler maintained a warm temperature inside them by heating the mesh bed on which the baby slept.

The “Infant Incubators” sideshow was always kept absolutely clean, and since Couney was an advocate for breastfeeding, he would fire nurses if they were caught drinking or smoking.

By 1939 (over 35 years since he had begun his work), he had treated over 8,000 babies, saving the lives of around 6,500 of them.

“I can’t save all the babies,” he had said, “but the percentage of loss is not large, and every parent is aware that I took good care of their baby until the almighty took its soul. I have never had a complaint or an investigation on me.”

Couney passed away in 1950. After his death, many hospitals began opening units that included incubators that would take care of premature babies because they saw how successful his sideshow clinic was.

Martin Couney claimed to be medically certified, but he wasn’t. He took premature babies that hospitals didn’t know how to treat and made them into sideshow attractions.

He charged people money to look at those premature babies; with this money, he took good care of the babies and paid his staff.

He popularised incubators in the US and saved the lives of around 6500 premature babies, all the while being opposed and called a “Showman.”

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Data Sources : Wikipedia and Quora