Genealogy Chat

Thanks for all the information. The date was 1898. The woman was my Grans sister.... Through doing this I have found that my Aunt, who is still alive and in her 80's, was named Ellen Elizabeth after my Grans sister but never knew that's why she was called that. ...She was really interested Linda

Puerperal fever in childbirth was caused mainly through lack of hygeine. Doctors would treat one patient after another without ever washing their hands, and hospitals would use the same ned without changing the linen. One of the first doctors to realise this set up a hospital in London for women having babies instigating strict hygeine, and although huis death rate dropped dramatically at that time he was soundly ridiculed by the medical fraternity of the time. I cant remember the title but there is a very interesting book about him, I believe he was Austrian.

Puerperal Fever - infection after childbirth, according to my little book. Maz. XX

Looked up in Medical Encyclopedia ENTERITIS Inflamtion of the small intestine. Enteritis may result from infection, particularly giardiasis and tuberculosis, or from Crohn's disease, which is sometimes called regional enteritis. Enteritis usually causes diarrhoea. PUERPERAL PSYCHOSIS ( this is the only reference i could find) This refers to psychosis which occurs during the time immediately following childbirth, and which has in fact been triggered by the pregnancy and birth. It is a serious form of postnatal depression. PUERPERAL FEVER Elevated temperature after childbirth ( could be due to an infection)

dont know which year you are looking at, but we found asister my FIL didnt know existed, died of the same of three weeks duration in 1901 aged 18 months, just two days before he was born. This explains why he never knew of her existance Shirley

Hi Linda You don't give a date but I would guess this would be a child being bottle fed after mother's death who was more vulnerable to the diarrhea(sp) that was very prevalent every summer in the late 19th early 20th century and beyond - hot weather, poor hygiene. My mother's pre war Home Doctor book had a specific entry for Summer Diarrhea. Cheers Sheila

my mothers first child died in a nursery from that he was only a couple of months old and that was in 1942

I think it would mean there was an epidemic, though could be local in nature, rather than national. It is epidemic and not endemic?? You don't say which year, but you could try looking at all the deaths in that quarter and reg district on FreeBMD to see how many children died and then do the same for the same quarter the year before and after, to see if there were a lot more baby deaths the quarter ''your'' child died. I say do the same quarter in different years as a lot more people died in the winter than summer and you need to compaer like with like! Good Luck Merry

Baby of 5 months died of Epidemic Enteritis. 27th July Does this mean, as it says, an epidemic of enteritisis? Or does is that a specific illness? Mother had already died 19 Feb, 8 days after birth of Peurperal Fever, Pneumonia and exhaustion. Thanks Linda