Delivering Thousands of “Chung Babies”

According to her meticulous records and notes, Madeline Chung delivered 7,226 babies during her career as BC’s first woman gynecologist. Her practice began in 1956, when the Shanghai-born Chung set up an office in East Vancouver while the rest of the city’s Chinese doctors, all seven of them, practiced exclusively in Chinatown. For a time, Chung was the only Chinese-speaking obstetrician in the city, and her ability to speak to patients in their language helped her break through gender and race barriers. Working by herself, Chung delivered up to 250 babies a year. It’s a point of local pride and history to be a part of the unofficial club of what are affectionately called “Chung babies”.