Priscilla White (physician)
Encyclopedia
Priscilla White, M.D. was a pioneer in the treatment of diabetes during pregnancy
and type 1 diabetes, and was also a founding member of the Joslin Diabetes Center
.
White was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Quincy High School. She attended Radcliffe College
before transferring to Tufts University Medical School
, where she graduated third in her class. At the time, Harvard Medical School
did not accept women. She served her internship at Worcester Memorial Hospital.
She joined the practice of Elliott P. Joslin
M.D in 1924 and was immediately assigned the care of children with diabetes. She felt her greatest contribution to the field of diabetes was her work delineating the heredity, stages and treatment of type 1 diabetes, “although the pregnancy work was more spectacular.” White wrote Diabetes in Childhood and Adolescence in 1934, and played an integral role in the establishment and operation of The Clara Barton Birthplace Camp for Diabetic Girls
, often driving 65 miles to reach the camp after a full day of work.
She began her pioneering research on pregnancy in the late 1930s and soon showed the importance of strict blood glucose control
and early delivery in ensuring the healthy delivery of newborns
. In 1949, she introduced the White Classification of Diabetic Pregnancies, which classified patients according to their level of risk
and tailored their treatment protocol accordingly. Levels of risk were determined by age at onset, duration, presence of atherosclerotic vascular disease and renal complications. In 1968, she added proliferative retinopathy to the risk factors. This classification was widely adopted and allowed doctors to partially predict the course of a woman with diabetes during pregnancy and the chances of newborn survival
.
White advocated the importance of close supervision during pregnancy by a small obstetric and diabetic team, a concept that is still practiced today at the Pregnancy Clinic, a joint collaboration between The Joslin Clinic
and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
.
When White began working at Joslin
, the fetal success rate was 54 percent; when she retired in 1974, it would be over 90 percent. During her 50 years of work, White managed the deliveries of over 2200 women with diabetes and the supervision of some 10,000 cases of type 1 diabetes. After her retirement, she continued to work on the emotional problems of young people with diabetes.
She was the first woman to be invited to give the Banting Memorial Lecture
and to receive the Banting Medal, the highest scientific award of the American Diabetes Association
. Hobart and William Smith College cited her as one of the 12 outstanding women physicians of the world.
White died of a heart attack on December 16, 1989.
Diabetes mellitus and pregnancy
For women with diabetes mellitus, pregnancy can present some particular challenges for both mother and child. If the woman who is pregnant has diabetes, it can cause early labor, birth defects, and very large babies....
and type 1 diabetes, and was also a founding member of the Joslin Diabetes Center
Joslin Diabetes Center
Joslin Diabetes Center is the world’s largest diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Among the Harvard Medical School Affiliated institutions, Joslin is unique in its sole...
.
White was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Quincy High School. She attended Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
before transferring to Tufts University Medical School
Tufts University School of Medicine
The Tufts University School of Medicine is one of the eight schools that constitute Tufts University. Located on the university's health sciences campus in the Chinatown district of Boston, Massachusetts, the medical school has clinical affiliations with thousands of doctors and researchers in the...
, where she graduated third in her class. At the time, Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
did not accept women. She served her internship at Worcester Memorial Hospital.
She joined the practice of Elliott P. Joslin
Elliott P. Joslin
Elliott Proctor Joslin, M.D. was the first doctor in the United States to specialize in diabetes and was the founder of today’s Joslin Diabetes Center. He was the first to advocate for teaching patients to care for their own diabetes, an approach now commonly referred to as “DSME” or Diabetes...
M.D in 1924 and was immediately assigned the care of children with diabetes. She felt her greatest contribution to the field of diabetes was her work delineating the heredity, stages and treatment of type 1 diabetes, “although the pregnancy work was more spectacular.” White wrote Diabetes in Childhood and Adolescence in 1934, and played an integral role in the establishment and operation of The Clara Barton Birthplace Camp for Diabetic Girls
Barton Center for Diabetes Education
The Barton Center for Diabetes Education is an independent, non-profit 501 organization, located in North Oxford, Massachusetts, dedicated to the education of children living with diabetes and their families and caregivers through year-round programs...
, often driving 65 miles to reach the camp after a full day of work.
She began her pioneering research on pregnancy in the late 1930s and soon showed the importance of strict blood glucose control
Diabetes management
Diabetes is a chronic disease with no proven cures but a lot of research is underway. It is associated with an impaired glucose cycle that alters the patient's metabolism. Management of this disease may include carefully managing diet, exercising, taking oral diabetes medication, using some form...
and early delivery in ensuring the healthy delivery of newborns
Postnatal
Postnatal is the period beginning immediately after the birth of a child and extending for about six weeks. Another term would be postpartum period, as it refers to the mother...
. In 1949, she introduced the White Classification of Diabetic Pregnancies, which classified patients according to their level of risk
Maternal death
Maternal death, or maternal mortality, also "obstetrical death" is the death of a woman during or shortly after a pregnancy. In 2010, researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, estimated global maternal mortality in 2008 at 342,900 , of...
and tailored their treatment protocol accordingly. Levels of risk were determined by age at onset, duration, presence of atherosclerotic vascular disease and renal complications. In 1968, she added proliferative retinopathy to the risk factors. This classification was widely adopted and allowed doctors to partially predict the course of a woman with diabetes during pregnancy and the chances of newborn survival
Perinatal mortality
Perinatal mortality , also perinatal death, refers to the death of a fetus or neonate and is the basis to calculate the perinatal mortality rate. Variations in the precise definition of the perinatal mortality exist specifically concerning the issue of inclusion or exclusion of early fetal and...
.
White advocated the importance of close supervision during pregnancy by a small obstetric and diabetic team, a concept that is still practiced today at the Pregnancy Clinic, a joint collaboration between The Joslin Clinic
Joslin Diabetes Center
Joslin Diabetes Center is the world’s largest diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Among the Harvard Medical School Affiliated institutions, Joslin is unique in its sole...
and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...
.
When White began working at Joslin
Joslin Diabetes Center
Joslin Diabetes Center is the world’s largest diabetes research center, diabetes clinic, and provider of diabetes education. It is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Among the Harvard Medical School Affiliated institutions, Joslin is unique in its sole...
, the fetal success rate was 54 percent; when she retired in 1974, it would be over 90 percent. During her 50 years of work, White managed the deliveries of over 2200 women with diabetes and the supervision of some 10,000 cases of type 1 diabetes. After her retirement, she continued to work on the emotional problems of young people with diabetes.
She was the first woman to be invited to give the Banting Memorial Lecture
Frederick Banting
Sir Frederick Grant Banting, KBE, MC, FRS, FRSC was a Canadian medical scientist, doctor and Nobel laureate noted as one of the main discoverers of insulin....
and to receive the Banting Medal, the highest scientific award of the American Diabetes Association
American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is a United States-based association working to fight the consequences of diabetes, and to help those affected by diabetes...
. Hobart and William Smith College cited her as one of the 12 outstanding women physicians of the world.
White died of a heart attack on December 16, 1989.