After World War 2, more medical advancements were made. One of the major changes that occurred was in the United Kingdom, where the National Health Service (NHS) was set up. This service made a huge difference in the wellbeing of the people as it allowed medication to be given, irrelevant of status and wealth. NHS allowed for the free administration of penicillin injections to those who could not afford them.
Pregnancy and childbirth became more controlled and monitored after 1945, with the first use of epidurals and scans to detect abnormalities accurately. Due to the lack of medical knowledge, the Natural Childbirth Trust, now known as the National Childbirth Trust, was set up. “Very little information about pregnancy and childbirth was available and the resulting ignorance bred fear, and fear led to pain, and a lack of support in childbirth and early parenthood” (1). This greatly increased the rate of survival among infants.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, a number of vaccinations were made against various diseases, for example polio, measles and rubella. This occurrence stopped many childhood diseases in their tracks and the health of children was greatly improved. “The golden age of vaccine development did not come until after World War 2, when several new vaccines were developed in a relatively short period of time and their success in preventing diseases like polio and measles was nothing short of revolutionary” (2).
Great advances in birth control were also seen post war due to the ‘baby-boom’ seen in certain western countries. Even though the diaphragm or cap had been developed earlier, people were unaware that they existed and so were not effective in birth control. Social ideas and norms prevented the use of birth control pills when they were made but by the 1960’s the pill, as well as IUD (intrauterine devices) were widely available.
Following the discovery and effectiveness of penicillin, many other drugs were discovered as well. For example, streptomycin, found initially in chickens and discovered in America, was used to treat a lot of infections that penicillin could not.
"A New Jersey farmer was upset: his chickens were catching a strange infection from barnyard dirt. He took the birds to the Rutgers University laboratory of microbiologist Selman Waksman, who analyzed the barnyard soil and isolated the problem - a peculiar fungus. In the process, Waksman fortuitously discovered that the microorganism had properties besides the ability to make chickens sick. The fungus produced a chemical agent that slowed the growth of certain bacteria". Smithsonian magazine (Chowder, 1992) (3)
Streptomycin was also used as one of the drugs to treat TB, also pioneered by America. By the 1970’s, there were five drugs used to treat TB and this brought on the fear of TB developing resistance and therefore this lead to research on drug resistance and effectiveness.
After the war, there has been an increased use of steroids. It was discovered that steroids could be used to suppress inflammation and therefore, later on, steroids were used in transplants to stop rejection and also in cancers.
Dr William Kolff developed the first kidney dialysis machine. Around the time he started working on kidney dialysis, World War 2 broke out. Therefore only afterwards did his achievements stand out and by 1960, kidney dialysis became widely available.
Early Kolff Kidney drum
Surgery after the war was greatly improved. In the 1960’s, laser eye treatments were developed, along with pacemakers, artificial arteries, and the replacement of heart valves, which helped greatly in heart transplants.
Transplant surgery, together with the improvement of pharmacology after the war, was a major step forward.
“The first successful kidney transplant was done in Boston in 1954; the first heart transplant was in 1967 (performed by Christian Barnard); the first liver transplant was in 1963; the first heart and lung transplant was in 1982 and the first brain tissue transplant was in 1987”. (4)
The treatment of cancer, due to better modalities such as radiotherapy and surgery and as well as better drug use, have improved the lives of cancer patients.
The development of IVF by Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe in 1969, changed millions of lives. The first human test tube baby was born in 1978 and from then on, millions of children have born that way.
“By 1986, 1,000 children had already been born following IVF at Bourn Hall, representing about half of all children born after IVF in the world at that time”. (5)
Other fertility treatments such as intra cytoplasmic sperm injections (ICSI) have been developed using IVF as a foundation. Now, almost 3% of newborns are conceived with the help of IVF.
In 1980, a serious problem came about. This problem was HIV/AIDS. Back then it took millions of lives of people but today there is hope for the sufferers of HIV/AIDS.
History of HIV/AIDS:
1981: AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is described for the first time in a US medical journal
1986: The drug AZT (azidothymidine) offers hope as a way of inhibiting the progression from HIV to AIDS
2000: At the turn of the century, it is calculated that 36 million people worldwide are infected with the HIV virus
During the Second World War several nations failed to abide by the Geneva Convention. At the fourth convention in 1949 (21st April - 12th August) the attending nations agreed to extend and codify existing provisions for four groups of victims - the sick and wounded, shipwrecked sailors, prisoners of war and civilians in territory occupied by an army.
There has been such a change in medicine from 1945 to now. Diseases that posed a huge treat back then have been treated and cured today. For example, 1979, the Global Commission for the Eradication of Smallpox announced that the world is free of smallpox.
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