Genealogy Chat

Thanks everyone

My mum had a miscarriage in the early 1960's - and this was referred to as either a miscarriage or abortion.

Here in Ireland if the feotus is under 28 weeks regardless the death of that baby is certified as an abortion because it is medicially not feasable to live and with her other ailments it was probably what lay people call a miscarraige.

Betty.

I did read somewhere that, back in Ancient Roman times, miscarriages could quite often be fatal if there was heavy blood loss because they couldn't give transfusions. I suppose it was just as likely to happen 100 years ago.

With abortion as we know it being illegal then, I think they must have meant "miscarriage" because if it was an abortion as we know it (a self induced one, I suppose) I suspect there would be questions asked as to whether the woman had been to an abortionist - I think the abortionist could get prosecuted and the mother could too, if she survived it. An old medical book from the twenties that we have makes a few mentions of "abortion" where it actually means "miscarriage".

I believe abortion can be the medical term for loss of a baby before birth.
We tend to think of it as an induced abortion, which is could well have been.
Sadly another child to feed and care for may have been an unwanted burden on the family, so the mother saught help.
Bronchitis and typhoid could have occured because of poor living conditions.

Gwyn

By abortion, I think they probably mean a spontaneous abortion or what we call miscarriage, probably brought on by the other ailments.

Hi everyone,

I recently received a death certificate for one of my ancestors which states she died of "typhoid fever, bronchitis, abortion".

Is this possible that it's not what it seems, as it does seem like a strange combination of ailments, and also at the time she was married and already had 2 children. She died at home in 1889 in Leicester with her mother present at the death.

Thanks!