What caused the Catherine of Aragon's multiple miscarriages and still births?

Answer 1

Here is an extract from a medical site cited below:

"[Katherine] had already been married to Prince Arthur [Henry's older brother] and doubts have been cast as to whether she actually lived with him, although she herself asserted that the marriage had been consummated, and it is not without the bounds of propriety to imagine that a young man, and an active young man of 16, in those days might reasonably have co-habited with his wife. It has been suggested that Queen Katherine's dreadful obstetric history could reasonably be attributed to syphilis. Sir Arthur MacNalty, however, in his medical history of Henry VIII, does not regard Henry as being a sufferer from this disease and certainly not in the early years of his life... He attributes Katherine's bad obstetric history to be due possibly to toxaemia of pregnancy and in this he has gained support from... eminent physicians... If Queen Katherine was Rh negative and either of her husbands Rh positive, antibodies might have been set up at a stage which prejudiced her future deliveries. Even if cohabitation did not occur with Prince Arthur it is quite on the cards that Henry VIII might have been Rh positive and produced a similar series of disasters. If we admit such a possibility, and it is not very far-fetched, then of course this would explain the neonatal deaths which followed. It would also allow of the live birth of Mary who may well have been the product of a negative gene in a heterozygus male parent. How easy it would be today to determine the cause of Queen Katherine's failure to produce a live child and, by the aid of a simple replacement transfusion, one or two of the male children might have been saved, in which case the country would still have been a Roman Catholic one; there would have been no Church of England; Queen Elizabeth would never have come to the throne, and the whole history of our country would have been altered."
http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1033668&pageindex=3#page

The above is from "A Gynaecologist Looks at the Tudors", and quite fascinating. (Can be printed from PDF file.)

Answer 2

I somewhat have not in my opinion had a miscarriage yet my aunt had 2 miscarriages and then six months after her 2d miscarriage she have been given pregnant with twins! i think of of there are unlucky factors which could contribute to miscarrying that are easily not consistently the case consistently. i think you have probable seen a physician related to the miscarriages yet as quickly as you haven't any further i'd desire to strongly motivate you to get an entire examination and stumble on the achievable motives of what went incorrect and observe what they recommend. i understand a woman who had countless miscarriages and had no concept why, she finally had bloodwork and assessments executed by utilising way of her ob/gyn and that they found out she had a blood affliction the region her blood would desire to clot up interior the umbilical twine that would then in turn deprive her little considered one of receiving any nutrition that would placed across approximately a miscarriage. She ended up having to have each and daily blood thinning photos that have been self administered. My boyfriend's ex fiance exchange into pregnant at modern and found out she had a vulnerable cervix so as that they placed her on mattress loosen up at 4 months and sewed up her cervix to maintain the little one in. She in spite of the undeniable fact that misplaced the little one 2 and one million/2 months later and had to circulate by potential of a stillbirth. She is now pregnant back and is healthy and happy and it variety of feels her physique somewhat some how adjusted to being pregnant this time around extra beneficial useful than very final time. do not furnish up wish ever, i know how unfavorable and disheartening a miscarriage would desire to be for each guy or lady in touch yet somewhat some females circulate directly to have happy and healthy pregnancies after even diverse miscarriages. i'd desire to truthfully seek for for suggestion from a physician for help or suggestion although. stable achievement and each and each element will artwork out by utilising some potential.

Answer 3

There was no specific cause. The medical care in the 1500s' were not the best. She only had two children delivered: Henry (who died in childhood) and Mary, who became the half-sister of Queen Elizabeth I, and was queen herself for about 7 yrs. (Mary married Phillip of Spain, whom Elizabeth later fought in war.)

Answer 4

Henry was generally believed to have been suffering from syphilis, which would presumably account for so many of his offspring by so many wives and mistresses being either stillborn or dying in infancy.

Answer 5

Weak genes, most likely, by this time the royal families had been intermarrying for far too long.

Answer 6

The same reasons women have had miscarriages and stillbirths over the centuries--there is no rhyme or reason to it

Answer 7

I read somewhere that she had venereable diseases, which were very prominent back then, with no tests to find out what it was, and no medicine to cure it.

Answer 8

probably inbreeding but also they didnt bathe and sanitary conditions were poor or that brute she married brought home some disease for her to get .

Answer 9

Inbreeding.
Genetic pools need renewal!