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Dr. John T. Carpenter Jr., 89, specialized in natural childbirth

He allowed fathers in the delivery room and relied on hypnosis instead of painkilling drugs during childbirth.

A memorial service will be held Monday, May 22, for John Thomas Carpenter Jr., 89, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist who delivered 5,000 babies during a four-decade career in Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr. He died of cancer May 5 at his home in Chesterbrook.

A recognized innovator in childbirth management, Dr. Carpenter was one of the first area physicians to permit fathers in the delivery room. He specialized in hypnosis as an alternative to powerful painkillers during childbirth and established natural delivery birthing rooms at Bryn Mawr Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

He was responsible for allowing mother-baby bonding in the hospital and early discharge from the medical center, before these became standard practice.

For 30 years ending in the mid-1990s, Dr. Carpenter was a member of the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, where his practice included pioneering work in transgender surgery.

From 1958 until his retirement in 1997, he maintained a solo ob-gyn practice in Bryn Mawr, often delivering babies in parents' homes. He kept meticulous records, including that of the final patient he treated.

"His vision of personal freedoms for women was phenomenal," said his son, John Carpenter III. "His use of hypnotism as an alternative to pain medications, his sponsorship of birthing centers, and his willingness to deliver babies at home paved the way for many women to experience natural childbirth."

Not all medical experts agreed with his approach. "He received flak from some of the hospital [officials] who thought he was setting them up for lawsuits," his son said. "But he pushed on. It truly became a revolutionary thing, in that women could have a choice."

Dr. Carpenter was a direct descendant of Francis Rawle, who immigrated to America in 1686 to escape the religious persecution of Quakers in Europe. The Rawle family produced some of the leading lawyers in colonial-era Pennsylvania.

Born in Villanova, Dr. Carpenter was a 1944 graduate of Radnor High School, where he excelled in football and track.

He went on to the University of Pennsylvania, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Henry Laussat Geyelin (Penn 1877), who played football there and who, as captain of its track team, chose the school's colors of red and blue.

Dr. Carpenter graduated from Penn in 1948 and its medical school in 1952. After completing an internship at Pennsylvania Hospital, he served for two years in the Army as a medical officer in Germany before returning to practice in the Philadelphia area.

Aside from his medical teaching and practice, Dr. Carpenter led a full and varied life.  Married three times – to Jean Dana, Carol Cherin, and Joan Gorman McKenna – he reared four children.

An active outdoorsman, Dr. Carpenter played tennis and golf, climbed all 46 mountains in the Adirondacks, and skied. He was a member of the Merion Golf and Merion Cricket Clubs.

He was a competitive bridge player, an accomplished ornithologist, and a longtime vocalist, singing bass with the Barbershop Harmony Society, Mainliners Chorus, Wayne Oratorio Society, and the choir at the Washington Memorial Chapel.

His son recalled Dr. Carpenter as a devoted father and grandfather. "Dad would attend all of my wrestling, cross-country, and football events whenever possible.  He did that for every child that was part of his life."

Throughout his life, Dr. Carpenter remained a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, and the Penn varsity and sprint football teams.

In addition to his son, Dr. Carpenter is survived by sons Geoffrey Carpenter and Robert Koenig; five stepchildren; seven grandchildren; and his friend and traveling companion, Marian Houston. A daughter, Charlotte, died in 1989. Former wives Jean Dana and Carol Cherin survive. Joan Gorman McKenna died earlier.

His memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 22, at the Washington Memorial Chapel, RR 23, Valley Forge. Burial is private.

Memorial donations may be made to the Cape May Observatory, in care of the N.J. Audubon Society, via www.njaudubon.org/SectionCapeMayBirdObservatory/CMBOHome.aspx,

or to the Washington Memorial Chapel Foundation via http://wmchapel.org/heritage/heritage-donation-form/.