Mary Katherine Martin Lindsay
MRCP(1989) RCPsych FRCP(1993) HonFRCPCH
1926 to 2025
"Adapted from BMJ 23 August 2025
It is taken for granted that a parent will usually stay with a young child in hospital, but this was not always allowed. Mary Lindsay changed that.
She was born in 1926 and died in March 2025 of heart failure after a long career as a paediatrician.
In the early 50s visiting hours for parents of children were severely restricted. This was due to the idea that parents brought germs with them into the hospital and that their presence upset their children. At the time, the emotional development of children was ignored by the medical profession. Mary opposed this view. The first consultant that provided beds for mothers in children’s wards was Dr Dermod McCarthy in Amersham Hospital, Buckinghamshire, UK with whom she worked. He was the only doctor to change his practice after seeing a film about it.
John Bowlby, a child psychiatrist, had presented 'A two year old goes to hospital' to paediatricians at the Royal Society of Medicine in 1952. It was not well received. A professor of surgery wrote in The Lancet, “There is a lot of sloppy sentiment talked about this. If children are left alone for a day or two they forget all about their parents. The hours in hospital after a parent visits is chaotic. The children all cry and shriek and will not go to sleep”.
Various films were made demonstrating the improvements experienced by children when they were allowed to have a parent (usually the mother) with them. Mary appeared in 'Going to hospital with mother' in 1958.
Mary, Dr McCarthy, and ward sister Ivy Morris, conducted a study of 1,000 children who had been admitted with their parents, and demonstrated how much better they did, but it took till well into the 1960s before the movement to have parents with their children in hospital took off.
Mary was born in Belfast but moved to Dorset where her father was a headmaster. During WW2 she was evacuated to Northern Ireland. She qualified at Belfast in 1951. After experience in paediatrics, general practice, adult and child psychiatry, she became a consultant in child psychiatry in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK.
It is taken for granted that a parent will usually stay with a young child in hospital, but this was not always allowed. Mary Lindsay changed that.
She was born in 1926 and died in March 2025 of heart failure after a long career as a paediatrician.
In the early 50s visiting hours for parents of children were severely restricted. This was due to the idea that parents brought germs with them into the hospital and that their presence upset their children. At the time, the emotional development of children was ignored by the medical profession. Mary opposed this view. The first consultant that provided beds for mothers in children’s wards was Dr Dermod McCarthy in Amersham Hospital, Buckinghamshire, UK with whom she worked. He was the only doctor to change his practice after seeing a film about it.
John Bowlby, a child psychiatrist, had presented 'A two year old goes to hospital' to paediatricians at the Royal Society of Medicine in 1952. It was not well received. A professor of surgery wrote in The Lancet, “There is a lot of sloppy sentiment talked about this. If children are left alone for a day or two they forget all about their parents. The hours in hospital after a parent visits is chaotic. The children all cry and shriek and will not go to sleep”.
Various films were made demonstrating the improvements experienced by children when they were allowed to have a parent (usually the mother) with them. Mary appeared in 'Going to hospital with mother' in 1958.
Mary, Dr McCarthy, and ward sister Ivy Morris, conducted a study of 1,000 children who had been admitted with their parents, and demonstrated how much better they did, but it took till well into the 1960s before the movement to have parents with their children in hospital took off.
Mary was born in Belfast but moved to Dorset where her father was a headmaster. During WW2 she was evacuated to Northern Ireland. She qualified at Belfast in 1951. After experience in paediatrics, general practice, adult and child psychiatry, she became a consultant in child psychiatry in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Throughout her career she emphasised the importance of emotional well being in the physical health of children. In 1989 she was elected president of the Royal Society of Medicine (Paediatric Branch).
Mary married at the age of 75 becoming a step-mother to three children, who survive her."
Mary married at the age of 75 becoming a step-mother to three children, who survive her."
27 comments:
What a remarkable woman. Thank you so much for sharing her story, Jan.
Wow, it's hard to believe that parents weren't allowed to be with the children. I'm so glad she changed that!
...many things have changed for the better!
bravo to her!! every single time i am in the hospital, my husband stays with me. in the beginning of my dx, they made provisions for him to sleep in the room. after so my hospitalizations, i was fine to be alone at night. i remember many experiences that frightened me and i am grown and i am a nurse. i can't imagine having to leave a child!!
She was an admirable woman; I have the utmost respect for what she accomplished in her life.
Thank you, Jan, for this message! hugs Elke
Common sense backed up with evidence prevailed. I still have very clear unhappy memories of spending 2 weeks in hospital as a 5yr old in the mid 50s. I can even remember that my mother was not allowed to see me everyday.
Good on Mary. Marriage at 65, on my, never too late. :) Jan.
My Baby-Brother was sick and I got severe stomach-aches cause I was worried and was in hospital... all by myself with another child crying all the time. Glad this has changed!!! I was only 5.
And a yippee for marrying! I was in Madeley/Perth and met a couple. The lady found her boy-friend of teenage-years on Facebook, they recently got married, also in their mid-70´s :-) It´s never too late for love (the boy had to move away with his parents back in the day). Oh, that was 2019... time sure runs!
Thank you Jan. God bless.
My brother was in the hospital for quite awhile when I was a child. I bet my mother would have stayed overnight if she could have been able to. I'm glad that's changed, for everyone, but especially children.
I had never heard of her. Thanks for sharing. What a remarkable woman.
A smart and clever woman.
Good on Mary! And married at 75. Wow. Thanks for sharing this, Jan.
It is hard to recognise and remember those rules. My two elder children were not allowed to visit me and their baby sister when she was born - this was a British military hospital in the 70s..
Inspiring woman.
Women should run more things and our lives will be greatly improved.
I didn't realize how recently it was that it changed that parents could be with their children in hospital. I was born in the late 40s and grew up in the 50s and 60s. I'm thankful for women like this lady who worked to change that.
A very smart woman.
She was a woman that knew the truth early on!
A great woman :-D
Thank goodness for her. Another woman who doesn't get credit for her accomplishments. Thank you for sharing her.
"Children left alone for a day forget about their parents". What a stupid thing to say, and from an "expert".
Glad there were people like her around to change some of those old ways.
Honestly I can't remember if my parents stayed with me when I was in the hospital as a young child. But I do feel that it is a good thing to allow it!
What a life and career. She IS amazing.
I was in hospital age 5 and parents we're not allowed. I remember feeling abandoned. The memories are still vivid. Avril x
No conocía la vida de esta doctora y me ha encantado conocerla. Besos.
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