Born in an Iron Lung: A Polio Survivor’s Story and the Importance of Vaccination

Polio Diagnosis During Pregnancy

At 32 years old, Elizabeth Mennell had an established career in the Foreign Office and maintained an active lifestyle that included hiking and swimming. Five months pregnant with her second child, she contracted polio, an illness that was rife during the mid-20th century and capable of causing lifelong paralysis or death, particularly among young children.

The infection left her paralysed and required a three-year hospital stay. Much of that time was spent inside an iron lung, a horizontal metal cylinder that used a motor to suck air in and out, forcing paralyzed intercostal muscles to expand and contract so she could breathe.

Her daughter, Susan Mennell, now 70 and living in Bookham, Surrey, noted that her mother gave birth to her while using the apparatus. Historical records suggest women who gave birth while dependent on an iron lung would either briefly be removed to deliver the baby or the bottom half of the cylinder would be opened up, with alternative forms of ventilation provided during the birth.

Despite the circumstances, Susan was born healthy, though she did not speak until around age three, leading doctors to question whether her vocal cords had been affected. At the time of Susan’s birth, her older brother was 18 months old, creating a significant upheaval for the family. Because Elizabeth’s husband traveled to London daily for work, the children initially moved in with an aunt.

Adapting to Permanent Disability

The disease permanently disabled Elizabeth, leaving her unable to walk or hold her children. Susan recalled that her older brother found the situation particularly difficult because their mother “wasn’t the mother he had known.”

When Elizabeth finally returned home after three years, daily life required extensive adaptation. Alongside a conventional ventilator, she utilized a rocking bed at night—a specialized bed that tilted from end to end to assist with breathing—along with various mobility aids.

Elizabeth had narrowly missed the rollout of the polio vaccine, developed by US doctor Jonas Salk in the early 1950s and licensed in 1955, just before she contracted the virus. Following the introduction of vaccination programmes, annual UK polio cases dropped sharply from 58,000 in 1957 to 5,600, with the last recorded domestic case occurring in 1984.

Current Vaccination Concerns

Polio has since been eradicated globally except in Afghanistan and Pakistan. While it remains part of routine childhood immunization schedules, current uptake rates across England have fallen below the World Health Organisation target of 95%, standing at 90.5% of children vaccinated by 12 months.

Dr Patrick Murphy, a consultant respiratory physician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, described the dip in vaccination coverage as a real concern. He warned that falling immunization levels combined with migration from regions with higher polio rates creates the potential for future outbreaks.

For Susan Mennell, encountering anti-vaccination views carries a deeply personal weight. She stated that listening to such perspectives prompts her to leave the room, reflecting on the severity of the diseases the vaccines prevent.