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  • Cause of Death

    I have the death certificate of a relative who died in 1855. The cause of death is shown as Partus 8 days, Bronchitis, Febris Typhoid.

    I know what bronchitis & typhoid fever is, and partus is a child immediately before or after its birth. Did this woman die from childbirth, or was it the other two conditions that killed her at the time that she was about to give birth.

    I'd be interested to know how others interpret this.

  • #2
    Hello walsy55

    I have a cert that states one of my relatives had puerperal fever and that she did die from it.

    Postpartum infections, also known as puerperal infections, is any bacterial infection of the female reproductive tract following childbirth or miscarriage. Signs and symptoms usually include a fever greater than 38.0 °C (100.4 °F), chills, lower abdominal pain, and possibly bad-smelling discharge.
    if she had that for 8 days then she would be seriously ill, and with her having the other issues too sounds like a death sentence to me, [when was this btw?]
    Last edited by Darksecretz; 17-01-17, 07:28.
    Julie
    They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

    .......I find dead people

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    • #3
      I'd say that hygiene would be a key factor in childbirth and often it was a family member/friend of the family/local woman that would help bring the baby in to the world. Hard to believe though that there wasn't more of a mortality rate considering the conditions.
      Julie
      They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

      .......I find dead people

      Comment


      • #4
        I had puerperal fever after my first child was born, I wont go into details but almost died.

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        • #5
          I think it means she died 8 days after the birth.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Val wish Id never started View Post
            I had puerperal fever after my first child was born, I wont go into details but almost died.
            Wow Val, you were lucky then! was it a home birth?
            Julie
            They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

            .......I find dead people

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks for your replies Darksecretz & Mary from Italy, but I am still mystified. My relative died in 1855 when she was 34 years old, and her death certificate gives three conditions:

              Bronchitis (which in itself could cause death)
              Typhoid Fever (which in itself could cause death)
              Partus (8 days) (which I cannot interpret relative to the death of the mother)

              Surely if death was caused by a Postpartum infection (or puerperal infection), that is what would have been recorded on the death certificate as a cause of death, rather than ‘partus (8 days)’

              It is not clear to me that death was actually caused by the process of giving birth, but if it did, what is the significance of the 8 days?

              Mary from Italy suggests death was 8 days after childbirth, but neither the birth nor death indexes show any child having been born to the parents, and I think it was a legal requirement that stillborn children or those born live but die very soon afterwards must be registered.

              Very puzzling!

              Comment


              • #8
                1927 was the year civil registration* of stillbirths began in England and Wales so in 1855 the mother could well have experienced a still birth 8 days before her death, with no birth or death registered of the baby.

                * Still births were sometimes registered in burial registers. Guy, who is a member here, has a project to create a historical still birth register http://anguline.co.uk/stillbirths.html
                Judith passed away in October 2018

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                • #9
                  Could it have meant simply a miscarriage which is why you haven't found a matching child's birth or death.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Many births went un recorded before 1875. Until then it was the responsibility of the registrar, not the parents, to register a birth, so there may or may not have been a live birth.

                    I would interpret the cert to mean she died 8 days after giving birth, of conditions not related to childbirth but which killed her in her weakened state.

                    The other thing to remember is that death certs weren't actually required until 1875 and the causes of death are often what the doctor THOUGHT may have killed them. You can never assume a death cert is absolutely accurate, not even today.

                    OC

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                    • #11
                      yes that's how I read it she died 8 days after having the baby.

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                      • #12
                        It's quite common on death certs to specify how long the condition causing death had lasted (e.g. pneumonia 10 days), which is why I think your cert means that she died 8 days after the birth (which, as the others say, might or might not be a stillbirth).

                        There's no way it could mean she died 8 days before the birth, obviously.
                        Last edited by Mary from Italy; 18-01-17, 00:19.

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                        • #13
                          Walsy,

                          was the death in Nottingham/Basford district? [sometimes I have seen burials of stillborns in the actual burial registers in/around Nottinghamshire.]
                          Julie
                          They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                          .......I find dead people

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by walsy55 View Post

                            Bronchitis (which in itself could cause death)
                            Typhoid Fever (which in itself could cause death)
                            Partus (8 days) (which I cannot interpret relative to the death of the mother)
                            The order of causes on a certificate is important .

                            The first should be the actual direct cause of death, under that may come conditions that led to the first. These days they would be numbered I(a), I(b) , and sometimes I(c). So you read them in reverse.

                            Other conditions present that may have contributed, but not directly, to the death may also be listed - these days with the number II.

                            Partus just means childbirth - not necessarily an illness/infection.

                            I would read it as she gave birth 8 days previously, and she had typhoid, which caused bronchitis (which is what actually killed her).

                            Even today these things are often a matter of a doctor's vague opinion - I've queried the cause of death on an elderly person with a doctor who admitted he no idea really, it could have been a number of things and what he had written was just his "best guess" !

                            If the child was born alive, then there should be a birth registration (possibly with no forename shown), but if stillborn at that time there would be no birth record.
                            Last edited by AntonyM; 18-01-17, 10:17.
                            Retired professional researcher, and ex- deputy registrar, now based in Worcestershire. Happy to give any help or advice I can ( especially on matters of civil registration) - contact via PM or my website www.chalfontresearch.co.uk
                            Follow me on Twittter @ChalfontR

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                            • #15
                              I am very grateful for all your replies which have helped me to see much more clearly how this unfortunate woman died.

                              JudithM – Thanks for Guy’s link.
                              Darksecretz – no, the death was registered in Bermondsey, London.
                              Mary in Italy – I feel sure you are correct. I have seen it on certificates where the number of days is shown for a condition.
                              AnthonyM – Thank you – I appreciate your explanation.

                              The concensus is clearly that she died 8 days after giving birth, with her Bronchitis (shown second on the certificate) and Typhoid Fever (shown third on the certificate) being the two conditions that contributed to her death. These conditions were certified and would certainly have been recognised for what they were by the doctor attending her.

                              I may never know for certain whether the child was stillborn, but I suspect it was. The mother’s death was registered three days after the event, and it seems logical to me that if the child had lived, then it, too, would have been registered then. As no record of any birth can be found, I have to assume the child didn’t survive.

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                I would be lookong for a burial to see if there is a note. Sometimes it says a stillborn child was buried with the mother. I have the burial of two infant sisters, and the note says they were buried in the same coffin.

                                Any kind of respiratory illness coupled with childbirth would be enough to kill a woman. My own great grandmother (her own stubborn fault really) contracted influenza at 8mths pregnant in 1931, it developed into pneumonia by the time she gave birth to my grandfather.
                                And it could well be that the exact cause was unknown, i think after 1875 all deaths had to be certified by a doctor...a famous black widow case brought that into effect. As mentioned above, even today doctor's don't know.... Said great grandmother's sister died in 1991 age 99. Cause of death? "old age".
                                Last edited by kylejustin; 18-01-17, 16:25.

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                                • #17
                                  Originally posted by kylejustin View Post
                                  As mentioned above, even today doctor's don't know.... Said great grandmother's sister died in 1991 age 99. Cause of death? "old age".
                                  "Old Age" is an acceptable cause of death for a doctor to use in certain circumstances if the person is 80+, I have registered plenty of them.
                                  Retired professional researcher, and ex- deputy registrar, now based in Worcestershire. Happy to give any help or advice I can ( especially on matters of civil registration) - contact via PM or my website www.chalfontresearch.co.uk
                                  Follow me on Twittter @ChalfontR

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    Originally posted by walsy55 View Post
                                    Darksecretz – no, the death was registered in Bermondsey, London.
                                    there might be something in the parish records for that time, have you looked?
                                    Julie
                                    They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                                    .......I find dead people

                                    Comment


                                    • #19
                                      if you post her details Walsy, then we can help look :smilee:
                                      Julie
                                      They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                                      .......I find dead people

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        Originally posted by Darksecretz View Post
                                        there might be something in the parish records for that time, have you looked?
                                        Yes, I have looked, but can't locate any parish records. Her details are:

                                        Mary Ann Canacott – born abt. 1821 in Talaton, Devon and died on 9th November 1855 at 11 Riley Street, Bermondsey.

                                        She married Robert Hepper on 29th October 1854 at St Mary’s Church, Newington, Surrey.

                                        The only reference I can find for her death is the Oct-Dec 1855 index. Death was registered at Bermondsey on 12th November 1855.

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