With Baby-Steps into Life

John Lind, 1909-1983

John Lind, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Karolinska Institute and Head of Department of Pediatrics of the Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, 1957-1976.

The John Lind Memorial Fund was established in July 1986 by some of his colleagues and friends.

The purpose of the Fund is to spread and develop John Lind’s work and ideas in honour of his memory.

John Lind was a man of vision. His ideas comprised many different areas. His prolific undertakings however had one thing in common. He wished to contribute to easier pregnancy, childbirth and child rearing. And from the child’s point of view: to make it easier to be expected, to be born and raised.

Together with his colleagues, John Lind made pioneering scientific achievements, such as illuminating the fetal and newborn circulation, the effects of early respective late clamping, the infant’s first breath and the phonetic pattern of infant cry.

In connection with expanding interest and knowledge of the newborn child, John Lind worked for many practical changes in the areas of infant and parental care. His aim was to facilitate the co-existence of the “new-born family”. Examples to the point are rooming-in at the maternity wards and the father’s responsibilities and rights from the start.

One of John Lind’s main interests for many years was the vital importance of play for children – for healthy children and, above all, for sick children. He realized the importance of music and the access to music should be an undeniable right to all children – even from fetal stage. The role of play therapy and music in the treatment of sick and disabled children was to become his last big project.