Genealogy Chat

Janet,
I have the family on the 1871 census (minus ggg grandmother as she died 1866). The youngest child is 10 years old.
Of course, it is possible that the child didn't survive.
Unfortunately their surname was Smith and they were living in the London area.
It is worth bearing in mind though.
Thank you.

As a complication of having a very large baby who went a month overdue, my grandmother was unable to walk for six months. Thankfully she recovered and went on to have my Mum although the doctors were so worried about her giving birth again they offered her a termination. (This was in 1943)

Could your ancestor have had a baby 6 months before? There were no inductions in those days.

No probs Christine.
Aussietrish - thanks very much for that info.
Being (unfortunately) completely ignorant of medical conditions, I can now understand how or why other serious problems could arise from this condition.
I will keep your reply for future reference.

Sorry Angela, I read your question wrongly. I thought it said that she died aged 6 months. Obviously she didn't or you wouldn't have been here!! What a silly person I am!! Having said that, unless you can find her medical records I don't think you will know for sure why she died.
Chris

Thanks Christine & Shirley.
This is very interesting.

from the Antiquus Morbus website

Paraplegia
Complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord. [Heritage]

Well, apparently, years ago babies with Spina Bifida were either born dead or had to have an operation soon after birth, but if they had contracted hydrocephalus it could result in death. It was some sort of viral infection so the mother could have gone on to have many "normal" children. They can actually treat babies in the womb for this these days so not so many fatalities occur.
Chris

Thanks Christine.
Mmmm... still puzzled as to why this caused her untimely death.
She had children, so I assume her spinal cord was ok then, if that would've made a difference to child-bearing.

"Paraplegia is an impairment in motor and/or sensory function of the lower extremities. It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida which affects the neural elements of the spinal canal."

The above is from Wikipedia. I don't know if that helps.

Deb
Thanks for replying.
Yes, I guess it could be something like that.

Maybe she suffer from paralasis for 6 months leading up to her death and then the paralasis effected her breathing or something.



Deb:)

I have received a death cert for my ggg grandmother who died in Bermondsey 1866 aged 36 years.
The cause of death is recorded as 'Paraplegia 6 months.'
Perhaps I'm being thick but I can't quite understand why this would have resulted in her death, does anybody have any ideas?
Many thanks for any replies.