Who was the Hungarian physician to first use antiseptic methods in the care of new mothers? Select one: a. Joseph Lister, b. Anton Semmelweis, c. Florence Nightingale, d. None of the above

Answer

The correct answer is b. Anton Semmelweis (Ignaz Semmelweis). Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician known as the 'savior of mothers.' In the 1840s, while working at the Vienna General Hospital, he observed that mortality rates from puerperal fever (childbed fever) were significantly higher in the clinic where medical students worked compared to the clinic where midwives worked. He deduced that the students, who often came directly from performing autopsies, were carrying 'cadaverous particles' to the mothers. To combat this, he instituted a mandatory policy of handwashing with a chlorinated lime solution. This practice drastically reduced the mortality rate, demonstrating the effectiveness of antiseptic methods in medical care before the germ theory of disease was fully established.