Babies death certs

[Sandra]

Hi

I got three of my granddad's siblings death certs today, I knew when I ordered them that they were all babies, but it's just so heart breaking to read them.

Doris died on 3rd Sept 1912 aged 8 months due to - 'Meningitis due to accidental fall off a bed on which she was lying'

Arthur died on 23rd October 1914 aged 4 months due to - '(1)Marasmus (2) Collapsed lung'

Cecil died on 20th April 1917 aged 19 months due to - '(1)acute gastoenteritis (2)tubercular meningitis, exhaustion & synope'

I have three more death certs to order one for Leonard again in the September quarter of 1912, and one for Lilian in 1902, and one for Frederick in 1896 - all 3 were babies (under 2 years old)too.
Then according to the 1911 census, they had another baby who died that I have yet to find.

Their eldest daughter Florence died on 28th Feb 1817 aged 20 of 'Pnuemonia 4 days & cardiac failure'.

How on earth did these people cope, losing two children a year?

Mum remembers her grandparents a lovely warm people, always taking them on their laps and cuddling them, after losing so many children they really must have cherished their grandchildren.

Mum vividly remembers the start of the blitz (we all come from East London) before she was evacuated. She remembers her granny picking her up and wrapping her up in the eiderdown off the bed. Mum said she was scared by the big bangs, but her gran held her tight and sung to her, rocking her back & forth, Mum was 4 in 1939.

Now back to the reason for my posting, why was the word Meningitis used for both Cecil & Doris's death? I understood meningitis to be a bacterial or viral infection of the fluid surrounding the brain which could cause septicemia. So how could a bang on the head, or tuberculosis cause it?

Sandra

[Merry Monty Montgomery]

How sad they all are.......


My OH's childhood friend died from TB meningitis when he was about 11. Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection. If it happens to cause inflamation of the meninges (the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord) then you have TB meningitis.

I'm less sure about the falling off the bed case. Maybe the child received a cut and infection got in that way? If the fall was far enough they could perhaps have had a fractured skull. This might not have been included on the cert as the fracture was not the cause of death, just being the cause of the infection entering the body. (this is all a guess though)

Did you see the program about The Victorians with Jeremy Paxman on Sunday? He showed a gravestone where the vicar had lost five of his seven children to scarlet fever within a five week period. It doesn't bear thinking about, does it?

[KiteRunner]

This explains the Tubercular Meningitis:
Tuberculous meningitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Still thinking about the other one...

[KiteRunner]

This would explain the first one:
Causes of noninfectious meningitis include the following:

Carcinomatosis (widespread metastatic cancer)

Contaminated water (may contain parasites)

Head injury, birth defect of the skull, brain surgery (may result in infection of the meninges or cerebrospinal fluid)

Medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (e.g., ibuprofen, naproxen) and antibiotics (e.g., Bactrim®, Septra®).

Taken from Neurology Channel:
Meningitis - Causes, Symptoms - neurologychannel

[Cloggie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meningitis: Meningitis is a medical condition that is caused by inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation is usually caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms but may also arise due to certain drugs, or other diseases.

And from Dorland's Medical Dictionary:
meningitis (men″in-ji´tis) pl. meningi´tides inflammation of the meninges, usually by either a bacterium (bacterial meningitis) or a virus (viral meningitis). When it affects the dura mater it is termed pachymeningitis; when the arachnoid and pia mater are involved, it is called leptomeningitis. The term meningitis does not refer to a specific disease entity but rather to the pathologic condition of inflammation of the tissues of the meninges.

[Sandra]

Thank you for your replies.

I knew TB was bacterial, but didn't realise it could cause inflamation of the meninges - that makes sense now.

Also I suppose Doris might have sustained a head wound when she fell off the bed to which infection would have got in, although there's no time frame as to when she injured her head to when she died, so I assumed she died immeadiatly as the place of death was her house.

There was an inquest on 4th Sept (the next day), which I have added to my list of 'to do' when I eventually get up to the Newham local studies library.That might tell me a bit more about it.

Sandra

[champagnegal]

Hi

I got three of my granddad's siblings death certs today, I knew when I ordered them that they were all babies, but it's just so heart breaking to read them.
Sandra

I know what you mean, my great grandad had 11 children. Of these 11, 5 died before the age of 2 and one was still born. Of the five who died, the 2 death certificates I have so far indicate both of them died of broncho-pneumonia and exhaustion. I am going to get the other 3 shortly. I call these kiddies the lost babies - none of my family knew about these children before I started delving into the murky past. I am going to get birth and death certificates for all 5, just to show that these kiddies lived, if only for a little time, and they have not been forgotten.