Margaret Irving Handy (1889–1977) was an American pioneering

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

who was one of the first to specialize in pediatric medicine. In 1945, she established the first mothers' milk bank at Delaware Hospital (now

Wilmington Hospital ChristianaCare is a network of private, non-profit hospitals providing health care services to all of the U.S. state of Delaware and portions of seven counties bordering the state in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. The system includes two h ...

) in Wilmington, Delaware. She was born in Smyrna, Delaware, the daughter of L. Irving Handy, a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

. She attended Goucher College and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from which she graduated in 1916. She was the first native-born female Delawarean to become a doctor and was also the state's first pediatrician. In 1918, during an outbreak of Spanish influenza in the Wilmington area, Handy was asked by the

Board of Health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environment ...

to open a paediatric ward at People's Settlement staffed by volunteers and with very little equipment. She subsequently established a pediatric clinic and became Assistant Chief, and in 1921, Chief, of Pediatrics at Delaware Hospital where she set up a nursery for premature babies. Handy collected surplus

breast milk Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates ( lacto ...

in the community to feed the babies of mothers who could not breast feed, and in 1945 founded the Mother's Milk Bank with Margaret Trentman, a hospital board member whose baby son had died because she was unable to nurse him. The bank supplied breast milk to mothers throughout the United States as well as for research purposes, for 40 years. She helped to establish ophthalmology as a speciality in Delaware, with Norman Cutler becoming the first state-certified

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

in 1947. Handy received a number of awards including the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary's Elizabeth Blackwell Citation (honoring female doctors) and the

Annie Jump Cannon Annie Jump Cannon (; December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of ...

medal from Wesley College as well as the 1953 Josiah Marvel Cup for outstanding contributions to the state and to society in the field of children's medicine. The ''Margaret Handy Lectureship'' at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware is named for her. Andrew Wyeth painted ''The Children's Doctor'', a " votive-like" portrait of Handy, in 1949 after she treated his son Nicholas at his remote farm. Wyeth painted another portrait, ''From the Capes'', in 1974 and gave her ''Lenape Barn'', a watercolour, as a gift in 1961.

References

External links

Changing the Face of Medicine - Margaret Irving Handy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Handy, Margaret 1889 births 1977 deaths People from Smyrna, Delaware American pediatricians American women pediatricians Goucher College alumni Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni Breckinridge family