{"id":1619,"date":"2023-04-12T06:59:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T13:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historicachannel.com\/?p=1619"},"modified":"2025-05-11T14:46:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T21:46:16","slug":"dr-fe-del-mundo-mother-of-pediatric-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiestic.com\/spark\/dr-fe-del-mundo-mother-of-pediatric-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Fe del Mundo: Mother of Pediatric Healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr <\/span><\/b>Fe del Mundo-<\/span><\/b> Pediatrician (1911-2011)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Poised<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was petite, barely 5 feet tall, with a fragile frame that belied a strong will and an agile mind. She was a fastidious dresser, well-turned out in coordinated tailored outfits, from dainty vintage jewelry to two-toned high heels and hair impeccably coifed\u2026 an engaging speaker\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Heartwarming words by Milagros Belmonte-Reyes, Fe del Mundo\u2019s niece. A woman ahead of her time, chances are higher she would have been a fighter of note during the Coronavirus pandemic as her niece also goes on to say, \u201c She would beam at us on sight and pat our heads, but stayed away from wet kisses from the little ones.\u201d\u00a0 Fe del Mundo\u2019s family describes her as a poised, elegant, and well-put-together lady with a good head on her shoulders to complement that. More than a good head, she was knowledgeable and generous, demonstrating the gravitas that comes with a trailblazer who shattered countless glass ceilings as she did in her time. A time when women were underrepresented in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine). Fe del Mundo was not only remembered (post-humous) and celebrated by her family, but being the woman who left a global footprint that she was, Google celebrated her by featuring her on the Google Doodle on 27 November 2018 (her birthday).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Make the circle bigger!: Men playing active roles in driving women’s empowerment.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Said to have been admitted to Harvard Medical school by mistake, Fe was one of the first women to study medicine during a period when women\u2019s academic options were limited, and their academic work was not acknowledged. There is even speculation that Fe del Mundo only gained admission at Harvard because of her disguise as a man (Harvard started officially accepting female students to its medical school for the first time in 1945). There is no concrete evidence proving that she was a Harvard medical student. Still, she was involved in work with Boston Children\u2019s Hospital and was a Research Fellow in Pediatrics. She initially earned a medical degree at the University of the Philippines, where she came top of her class. She would proceed to further her studies in the United States and specialize in pediatrics, sponsored by her government, as they had noticed that she was one bright spark. At the end of her studies, she earned a master’s degree in bacteriology and studied public health. It is essential to note that Fe del Mundo was able to accomplish many great things at a time when there were not accessible to women simply because she was surrounded by men who believed that she could and should. One of those is Manuel Quezon, president of the Philippines, who sponsored her postgraduate studies abroad (US). Another influential figure who paved the way for Dr. Fe\u2019s success is her father. A successful lawyer in his own right, Bernardo del Mundo supported his daughter in pursuing her dreams of studying medicine, which she always wanted to do when she was younger. Funny enough, becoming a doctor was initially Fe\u2019s sister’s dream, but unfortunately, not living up to adulthood, her sister died aged eleven. Originally a family of eight children, three of her siblings died in infancy, and her sister made four. The sixth of children and four dying very young, Fe was determined to work in medicine and improve the health system and overall lives of children in her home country. Luckily for her, her lawyer father was supportive of her ambitions. Ambitions that went against the status quo may have been considered ridiculous at the time. Women were marginalized and not expected to contribute significantly to science or any academic spaces. By allowing his daughter to study further, Fe Del Mundo\u2019s father can easily be said to have started to pave the way for female trailblazers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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An Illustrious Career<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On her return from her studies in the US, Fe del Mundo started working with the red cross only as a volunteer at the height of the brutal Japanese invasion of her country at the time. Her work was mainly helping injured, and sick Filipino children living in concentration camps under Japanese rule. She would later be hailed as the angel of St Thomas because of her humanitarian efforts and tireless work treating more than four hundred children in prison-like conditions. She achieved so much while working for country hospitals and spaces that were not adequately equipped and, during the conflict, selflessly. Throughout her lifetime, she went on to achieve many great things, selflessly giving not only her expertise but her resources. She struggled with obstacles in her efforts to build her first hospital, undeterred she would overcome, and open her pediatric clinic in Manila, funded by a few donations from well-wishers, a small government loan, and mostly her own funds, some obtained by selling her own house. Her pediatric clinic opened in Manila, Philippines, on her birthday in 1957. Still standing today, the Fe del Mundo medical center was initially opened with a capacity of only one hundred beds. The opening of her hospital benefited children sick of general illness and victims\/casualties of war too.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Fe del Mundo revolutionized medical care in her country, with her impact not limited to her pediatric clinic only but as many spheres as she could reach. She introduced immunization, breastfeeding, and birth control programs. She also established a helpful facility, recognized nationally and internationally even today- the (IMCH) institute of maternal child health. Helping as many as she could, she found creative ways to ensure that healthcare was accessible to marginalized communities. One of her outreach programs centered on promoting wellness in communities without access to doctors. People in these communities would be educated on how to care of and improve their health.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, she facilitated the training of paramedics and midwives in such areas. Her programs were supported by several international bodies, among them the World Health Organization (WHO), International Development and Research Centre (IDCR), and the Institute for Child and Family Health (ICFH). Daring to go where others dared not, Fe del Mundo helped bridge the gap for communities with no access to healthcare and brought groundbreaking medical developments to be marginalized and often forgotten rural communities. One of her groundbreaking inventions was invented in 1941, the bamboo incubator. The invention would go on to save the lives of many premature babies in communities without access to electricity and financial resources. Made out of two traditional bamboo baskets, they would be placed inside each other, and bottles of hot water between them. The hot water would warm the baby, and a hood was attached to provide oxygen for the baby, genius! Overall her efforts substantially improved in decreasing infant mortality rates in the Philippines. Low infant mortality rates are a crucial indicator of a society\u2019s standing on health and welfare matters.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A woman of many hats, Fe del Mundo\u2019s legacy extends to her roles as a scientist, teacher, and author. In her research work, she plunged into uncharted waters, researching diseases that people knew a little about under post-conflict conditions with her country was still recovering. Immunizations that helped to tackle Polio and measles, deadly child diseases in the 20th century, were based on some of her research. Her research was also vital in discovering treatments for jaundice and dengue fever.\u00a0 With over one hundred published health work articles, some of Dr fe Del Mundo\u2019s works have been used in India and the United States. Even with full hands, she wrote for a weekly newspaper published in Manila. Much like Question and Answer platforms today, giving parenting and sick children advice.\u00a0 She built her legacy by training other medical professionals in her country and authored journals and pediatric textbooks.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Accolades and Recognition<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Equally a leader as she was hands-on, her work extended to being president of the Asian Women\u2019s medical International Association. In her home country, Dr. Fe del Mundo was the first-ever woman president of the Philippine Pediatric society and the first-ever woman scientist of the year in a male-dominated industry, a position previously occupied by a long line of 65 males. A member of the Advisory Board of the International Pediatric Association with WHO (World Health Organization), Dr. Fe del Mundo sat on many boards throughout her lifetime. An esteemed woman with a global footprint, her country couldn\u2019t ignore her accomplishments. In recognition of her massive contributions, the Philippines conferred her the highest honor in the country in the 2010-The Order of Lakandula. With greatness that borders couldn\u2019t limit, Fe del Mundo\u2019s lifetime achievements are reflected through several other awards that she received from all over the world. Some of them are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n