Am I right with cause of death?

[Sandra]

Hi

I recieved a death cert this morning for my g-grans sister. She died in 1912, aged 23 of (1) Pyosalpinx (2) Peritonitis.

I have googled Pyosalpinx, and it says 'distension of fallopian tube with pus'
Would I be right in saying that she died from an ectopic pregnancy?

I know peritonitis is blood poisoning, usually from a ruptured intestine/stomach, would you still get peritonitis from a ruptured fallopian tube? or do you think she may have had an operation to remove her tube and the surgeon may have nicked the intestine?

She died in hospital. There was no post mortem.


Sandra

[Olde Crone Holden]

Mmmmm....it MAY have been an ectopic pregnancy but this doesn't cause death until the fallopian tube ruptures. There must have been some underlying infection of the fallopian tubes to cause pus BEFORE it ruptured, I would think, as it is normally a sterile organ.

You get peritonitis from ANY infection in that area, if the build up of infection is great enough to leak out of one organ, through the protective membrane.

OC

[Merry Monty Montgomery]

I thought the same as OC about the falopian tube being a sterile environment (unlike the intestines or whatever)


However, it looks like we are both wrong!!

Quoted from: Delay in Diagnosis of Ectopic Pregnancy Information -Online Lawyer Source

One of the most serious errors made in obstetrics and gynecology is a delay in diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilized egg implants somewhere other than the uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes. There may be a delay in diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy due to the fact that many women with ectopic pregnancy will continue to menstruate and may not realize that they are pregnant and fail to see a doctor. Possible consequences resulting from a delay in diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy include infection, damage to the reproductive organs, infertility, and death. In fact, delay in diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy is the number one cause of death for women in their first trimester of pregnancy.

An untreated ectopic pregnancy will almost invariably end in the rupture of the fallopian tube, leading to lethal infection/hemorrhaging.

[Merry Monty Montgomery]

I am surprised in 1923 they wouldn't have mentioned the cause was an eptopic pregnancy though. I suppose you could have an infection in the tube introduced via the vagina which was not associated with pregnancy.

How awful for the poor woman and her family......

Was she married? I just wondered, if she wasn't, could this have been the result of an illegal abortion??

[Sandra]

After I read OC's message, I have been googling myself. It seems that a pus build up in the fallopian tubes can be caused by an abcess, or an STI like chlamydia.

What ever caused it, I'm sure she must have been in complete agony.

Merry - it was 1912, not 1923.
She was 23 years old and married for 4 years. She had 3 children eldest born & died in 1908, a boy in 1909 and a girl in 1912 (the baby girl died in 1915)

Before I ordered her death cert, I assumed she died because of complications when she had her daughter, who was born in the March qur 1912......... acually this may still be the case, I have just ordered the baby girls birth cert, to see how close her birth was to her Mum dying. (Mum died on 23rd April 1912 in Poplar Hospital, East London)

So unless Mum fell pregnant straight away after giving birth, an ectopic looks quite unlikely now.

Sandra

[Olde Crone Holden]

I am no medic, lol, but wonder if the infection is caused by the distention of the tube, allowing infection from other organs to get in through the stretched membrane?

Beside the point really, though. If she was single, perhaps they left the word pregnancy off the death cert out of consideration for the family?

I do remember hearing about a doctor who was well known for signing off pregnant unmarried girls with a sick note stating "Internal growth" lol.

OC

[Sandra]

OC - Our posts must have crossed

[Merry Monty Montgomery]

Merry - it was 1912, not 1923.


unless Mum fell pregnant straight away after giving birth, an ectopic looks quite unlikely now.

Sandra

Oops re date :o

I suppose her daughter could have been born as early as mid Nov the previous year if she was registered in Q1, so don't rule out the eptopic yet (though I bet the Dr would have mentioned it was due to an eptopic if it was.....)

As you said...........complete agony.....really awful.

[Little Nell]

Once you get the daughter's birth cert you will be in a better position to decide if this was pregnancy/childbirth related.

[Little Nell]

This site Pyosalpinx of the Fallopian Tube
says pyosalpinx can be caused by infection following delivery.

[Sandra]

Oooh, that looks more plausable, thanks for the link Nell.

I see it say's 'following delivery, abortion, instrumentation, or IUD placement'
I wonder if they used forceps (instrumentation), which could be how an infection got in, in the first place.

The baby's birth cert is due on the 14th, when that arrives, I'll know for sure then.

The sad thing is, the husband was present at death. It must be the worse thing in the world to see the mother of your newborn die in front of you in such excruciating pain. Then having to go home with a new baby and a 2 year old.

The mothers sister brought the children up... well, the baby girl died at 3 years old, but the boy, the 2 year old didn't die until 1997.

Sandra

[Sandra]

Hi to those who were helping me with the cause of death. Just a quick update.

This morning I received the birth certificate of Caroline, the baby. She was born at home on 14th Feb 1912.

Mum died 5 weeks later in hospital on 23rd April 1912. So I would think that Nell was right, the pyosalpinx and peritonitis was caused by the delivery. She must have caught an infection, which spread to her fallopian tubes.

It's so sad, her husband must have been in such a state. Little Carolines birth wasn't registered until 25th March. The Mum's death was registered the day she died.

Sandra

[Little Nell]

Very sad. What happened to Caroline?

My poor father-in-law had to register his son's birth and death on the same day. The child lived for just 2 minutes. When he registered these events, his wife was still seriously ill after an emergency caesarian.

[Sandra]

Caroline and her 2 year old brother went to live with her Aunt - her Mum's sister, so Dad could go back to work. Caroline died 3 years later in 1915 (haven't got death cert, so don't know the cause) her brother died in 1997 aged 87.

How awful for your poor father-in-law. It does make you wonder where people get the strength from to carry on.

My g-gran (the Mum's sister) had 17 children in all. My Nan was the 8th.

My g-gran out lived 11 of her children.

During the years 1904 to 1925, as well as losing 9 of her children, she lost 2 sisters (including Carolines Mum), a brother, her parents and 6 grandchildren including Mum's eldest sister, 3 neices and two nephews. This was in a 21 year period.

...my g-gran died in 1957 of dementia in Goodmayes Mental Hospital, East London. I'm not surprised, bless her. No counseling back then, you just had to get on with it.

Sandra

ps. she was a Romany Gypsy and lived in a tent and a caravan for the most part of her life.

[Little Nell]

Sandra

Oh that is sad. But then, people were expected to just have a stiff upper lip and get on with it, weren't they. Now some people are suggesting that counselling, by allowing people to dwell on things, doesn't help them. Better to move on.

I think our ancestors were just more inclined to accept that illness and death were part of life. Now we think we should be able to cure illness and prevent disasters, so we find it very distressing when we can't.

And of course, years ago, people were more likely to believe in an afterlife which would have been a comfort when they'd lost family members.