How exactly did women used to die in childbirth?

Question

I know a bunch of old books and movies refer to women dying in childbirth, but how exactly can that happen? Do they bleed to death, pass out or forget to breathe due to pain, suffocate, or just die because they can't get a C-section? What? Also, does anyone know how common it was? What about how common - uncommon - it is today?

Answer 1

You're all partly correct. I get this information from documentation provided to me from memoirs from my grandmother, who was a midwife.

Indeed, many women did perish from the physical trauma of pushing out the baby and others would hemmorhage but the most common problem was that women would run excessively high fevers immediately following the birth of their babies. Why? That mystery wasn't solved until about the 1950s... After birth. Not all of the after birth would get removed and it would create terrible infections and that is ultimately what killed so many women after child birth.

If there is a rip or tear in the placental wall as the child is being extracted, this gives way for error and small bits and parts to be left behind. This was often the case.

So you have the physical trauma of pushing for goodness knows how long (trauma to the heart and other vital organs), hemmorhaging and infection from after birth.

I hope this helps you!

Answer 2

A main cause of women dying in childbirth was childbed fever, or puerperal fever. Famous women believed to have died of this were Jane Seymour (mother of Henry VIII's son, Edward VI), Henry VIII's last wife Katherine Parr (she married again after Henry died), and many others; the illness made no distinctions between rich and poor. Another was Mrs (Isabella) Beeton.

"It is defined as infection of the uterus following the birth of a child. In western medicine today it is unlikely to be caused by poor hygiene - although historically it was the lack of hygiene standards that led to its spread in epidemic proportions. It does not have to be caused by retained placenta or any error or misjudgement at birth. A perfect, complication free delivery is no guarantee of safety from sepsis.

It is a very serious form of septicaemia, caused for example by Group A streptococcus bacteria which, if untreated, will inevitably lead to toxic shock syndrome, multi-organ failure and death.

Group A Streptococcus is a relatively common bacteria, which some people have quite harmlessly on their skin, in their nose, throat or genital tract.

It is a nasty and highly toxic organism. If it is able to take hold in the ideal conditions of a post partum uterus and the symptoms of infection are not caught early enough, death will follow. It will overwhelm even the healthiest mother’s immune system.

Historically, Childbed Fever was the leading cause of maternal death in the UK but, due in part to penicillin, cases declined significantly; the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health reported no attributable deaths between 1982 and 1984.

Since then, deaths have been on the increase and sepsis now accounts for 12% of direct causes of maternal death."
http://www.jessicastrust.org.uk/what-is-childbed-fever/

There are some horrific descriptions of childbirth and attendant midwives around; try Liza Picard's books.

Answer 3

I don't have any stats, but it was the most common cause of death for women during birthing years. The most common cause of death for men was war, then occupations.
Bleeding to death; baby becoming stuck in the birth canal (and both mother and child dying); infections were the most common causes.
C-sections have been around for thousands of years; however, for the most part, it is not as safe as a natural birth.
(Remember McBeth?)
When having a difficult birth, the process is already extremely difficult, being like extreme work (that's why they call it LABOR). The heartrate and repiration rates climb; when they get too high, death occurs. (Similar to running oneself to death.)

Answer 4

1. hemmorage
2.bleed out
3. about 1 out of 3 births resulted in the mothers death, now more women survive childbirth than die

Answer 5

Lots of women used to die in childbirth caused by a condition called placenta previa cause by scar tissue on the uterus from abortions, miscarriages or lots of kids. Meaning the placenta would end op covering part of our all of the cervix causing women to hemorrhage, bleed out or the baby not able to exit the body.....All of the above hemorrhage or bleed out posts are in a way referring ton placenta previa they just don't know it.

Answer 6

Women die at childbirth becaue it's so hard to push the baby out.Now unlike here in America,they did'nt have the materials for ths kind of procedure.So the women would die.it still happens in places like Africa even here bu ony 1 out of 1,000 in africa,1 out of 15.It's very common today and even more in the past! (dum dum dum)

Answer 7

I read this book called "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" and it had one situation like that, the woman was giving birth and she died. I think its because of the way the baby came out, ok, baby's come out a certain way kinda like head first so if the baby comes out, the arms are on the sides, but if the baby comes out feet first, the arms kinda spreads and acts like an arrow tearing the woman....yeah

Answer 8

They bled to death. Its called hemoraging to death.

Answer 9

This article will answer all your questions ... and more!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternal_death

Answer 10

i think most of them would hemorrage