Polio Survivor’s Birth in an Iron Lung Highlights Vaccination Concerns
Elizabeth Mennell contracted polio while five months pregnant in 1956 and gave birth to her daughter Susan while using an iron lung. She was paralyzed and spent three years in hospital, later adapting to permanent disability with breathing aids. The story is being used to highlight the severity of polio and contemporary concerns about declining childhood vaccination rates.
Elizabeth Mennell was 32, worked at the Foreign Office, and was active in hiking and swimming when she caught polio five months into her second pregnancy. Paralysis led to a three-year hospital stay, much of it in an iron lung. Her daughter Susan was born healthy, though she did not speak until about age three, prompting doctors to check whether her vocal cords were affected.
Elizabeth narrowly missed the Salk vaccine, licensed in 1955. UK polio cases fell from 58,000 in 1957 to 5,600, with the last domestic case in 1984. England’s infant vaccination uptake is now 90.5%, below the WHO’s 95% target.
This story may reinforce public awareness of polio’s historical severity and could influence parents weighing childhood immunization. It may resonate with disabled people and families affected by vaccine-preventable illness, while also drawing attention to gaps in coverage. Policymakers and health officials could use such narratives to support uptake efforts, though personal stories alone may not change deeply held views.