Perinatal profiles: Robert McCance and Elsie Widdowson: Pioneers in neonatal science

Robert McCance and Elsie Widdowson have a special place in the history of neonatal science. Their use of experimentation and observation of human infants and many other species built much of the knowledge of perinatal physiology, particularly that related to nutrition and renal function, which underpins modern neonatology. Neither was a clinical pediatrician, but they had a major influence on the first wave of neonatologists trained in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. Their stories show how the combination of intellectual curiosity and practical skill can lead to new knowledge in unexpected directions.