re: #132 wheat-dogghazi-mailgate

My paternal grandfather’s mother died at age 24, several months after he was born. Intestinal infection was the listed cause, but it may have been a complication of the birthing process. My mom’s mom also died a year after giving birth, but from pulmonary disease. She was a garment worker in NYC.

My great-grandfather remarried in 1860. They had eight children, but only four survived to adulthood. This was a middle class family with access to decent (for the time) medical care.

Damn. From what I know none of the distant grandmothers I’ve researched died of complications related to child birth. I know what you mean about children though. My great grandmother came from a family of eight and only her and her two younger brothers survived childhood. And sadly she herself only lived to be 45. My grandmother was only ten when it happened.