Menopause and music: pioneer women's health doctor dies at 94

Perth obstetrician Margaret Smith remembered for her dedication to women's health In short: Dr Margaret Smith, who dedicated her career to improving women's health, died in July aged 94. Dr Smith was a WA Citizen of the Year and a Member of the Order of Australia. In a eulogy, a family friend described her as 'the Hippocratic Oath writ large'. Dr Margaret Smith was fond of describing herself as "not famous, but well-known". The renowned Perth obstetrician and women's health advocate delivered some 6,000 babies throughout a decades-long career, during which she had to battle the sexism rampant in the male-dominated hierarchies of medicine in the 1950s and beyond. Dr Smith died on July 14, her 94th birthday. In his eulogy, family friend Julian Dowse said she often paraphrased the famous quote that described golden-age Hollywood actors Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dancing together. "I have to do everything he does backwards and in high heels, but fortunately I can make it look twice as easy," Mr Dowse quoted her as saying. Margie, as she was often called, was a twin, born four minutes before her identical sister Joan. Their mother, attended by just a midwife and expecting a single baby, had picked out one girl's name: 'Margaret Joan'. Such was the shock at the multiple birth that the girls were only given one name each. Their sister Nancy completed the family four years later. As a child, she became determined to pursue a medical career when a favourite cousin died in her teens in the era before antibiotics. Later her grandmother's death from ovarian cancer steered her towards women's health. No residencies for women Margie graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1956, one of only four women in her class of more than 100 men. Initially, she was refused a residency in obstetrics because she was female. Mr Dowse said her classmates made sure she got what she wanted. "There was a famous act of solidarity by her fellow students, who refused to take up their residencies unless the talented Margie was offered a rightful place," he said. Loading...The lead campaigner was Frank Smith, who was to become Margie's husband. The couple had no children. "Margie once said to me, reflecting on the dilemmas that professional women of her era faced: 'I could not have had children, otherwise I could not have done what I did for other children',"Mr Dowse said. A pioneer in women's health Margie spent five years training as a specialist in Edinburgh, winning a gold medal in her postgraduate examinations in 1963 for the highest-performing student in the realm. In the 1970s, she and Frank spent seven years in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, where Frank worked as a surgeon, and Margie delivered babies. But her role in the remote location went far beyond obstetrics, and she was often a physician and anaesthetist, practising in difficult circumstances without the support of specialist teams. "During this time, Margie was most proud of safely delivering a set of triplets," Mr Dowse said. After Papua New Guinea, the couple moved to Perth, where Margie was one of the few female practitioners at the time. She worked both at King Edward Memorial Hospital and in private practice, as well as lecturing at the University of Western Australia. "Margie revolutionised the treatment and care of women," Mr Dowse said. "She put women first from birth to menopause." Treating the silent suffering In the 1970s, menopause was rarely discussed in public but Margie recognised the challenges faced by many women in midlife. She founded WA's first menopause clinic in 1978, later named in her honour. She was also a founding member of the Australasian Menopause Society. Colleague Dale Hamilton said she was passionate about teaching women to take better care of their own health. "She ran a lot of public seminars for education about the menopause and … she was a very clear and passionate speaker, and very, very popular," she said. "She had a good sense of humour, she was clear about the information, so she imparted a lot of power to women by educating them on what was possible." Community recognition Margie was named a WA Citizen of the Year in 1994, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996 for service to medicine and women's health care. In 2011, she was inducted into the WA Women's Hall of Fame. Margie also wrote several books, including a memoir, as well as more than 30 published medical papers. Throughout her career, she mentored countless young doctors, inspired many colleagues and assisted thousands of patients, all with patience, encouragement and humility. "Her work was the Hippocratic Oath writ large,"Mr Dowse said. "She safely brought life into the world and sought to make life better for countless others." Music and medicine Margie loved classical music, and was a choral singer well into her 90s. She also loved poetry, and considered Norton's Anthology of Poetry an "indispensable reference book", Mr Dowse said. "She introduced me to Keats's observation that 'a thing of beauty is a joy forever',"he said. Late in life, Margie learnt to play the cello and to paint. "She had a wonderful energy ... no matter what was going on," Dr Hamilton said. Margie is survived by her twin sister Joan, nieces and nephews, as well as more than one generation of deeply grateful women.