Medicine: Chilled Pregnancy

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It was early in May when Ellen Moore, 22, a pretty young housewife, headed for the Child Welfare Clinic in the bleak Northumberland mining town of Wallsend. Two months pregnant, she had her 16-month-old firstborn, Paul, in his pram. As a truck carrying a load of tree trunks took a nearby corner, one of the lashings parted. A soft, log struck Mrs. Moore a glancing blow on the head, and she fell unconscious.

At the big, expertly staffed General Hospital in Newcastle, five miles away, she was given 48 hours to live. Then, as Ellen Moore kept on fighting for her life, George Frederick Rowbotham, one of Britain's most noted brain specialists, took charge. He had no hope of saving her unborn child, but he hoped to save her life. As his patient's temperature began to rise dangerously, he had her swathed in bags of ice and dosed her with drugs. Her temperature fell to 85°, where it was kept off and on for weeks.

Five weeks ago Ellen Moore regained partial consciousness. Last week, on Ellen Moore's 23rd birthday. Gynecologist Linton Snaith supervised the normal delivery of a normal, healthy boy, 7 Ibs. 12 oz. Though she still did not recognize her husband Kenneth, Mrs. Moore, now back to normal temperature, identified the new arrival and murmured, "I love it. I love my baby."