How did my 3x great grandmother die?
QMy 3x great grandmother, Catherine Bird (formerly Fothergill), died aged 30 in Aberdare, South Wales, in 1875. Her death certificate records her cause of death as “intestinal obstruction and pneumonia”. After further research, I discovered that she had given birth to her son, Edwin James Bird, just a few weeks before she died. Was her death due to complications after childbirth?
AIt’s very sad when a mother dies shortly after giving birth. A joyous family event could turn so quickly to tragedy in the past. I think that your ancestor’s death was almost certainly a complication of her giving birth.
Infection was the commonest reason for mothers to die after delivery. In particular, puerperal fever was feared because it seemed to occur unpredictably in women who had had a normal, healthy labour. It is caused by an infection of the womb (uterus), often because Victorian doctors and midwives didn’t wash hands, use antiseptics, or sterilise their instruments.
Puerperal fever began shortly after birth. It was not always fatal, but deaths usually occurred within four weeks of delivery. Your poor ancestor, Catherine, died about three weeks after childbirth, so is within the expected timeframe. It would start with a fever, and as the infection spread it could lead to peritonitis (infection of the abdomen) and septicaemia (blood infection). Women with peritonitis had no appetite and often could not empty their bowels – hence it being labelled as “intestinal obstruction”, a vague diagnosis typical of the period. Catherine will have suffered agonising abdominal pain.
She may have got a chest infection because of her weakened state. Victorian doctors used the word ‘pneumonia’ to describe a number of chest complaints.
Women who died of puerperal fever often became delirious before their death. In the era before antibiotics, there was little hope.