re: #341 HappyWarrior

There was a family legend that my grandfather had siblings that were twins that died in the flu pandemic but my research seems to suggest that wasn’t true. He did have two stillborn siblings though. In fact all ny grandparents but my dad’s mom had a sibling die as children but my dad’s mom lost her mother at ten so she didn’t exactly skate free to tragedy. I think that’s why I laugh when people try to pass off those days as the quote on quote good old days. I mean I know children still die in childhood these days but it’s not nearly at the rate it was.

At the turn of the 20th Century, it was horrifically high. 10% (100/1000 live births). Maternal mortality (death in childbirth) was 90/100,000 births. It’s HUGELY better now.

In my own family, my Mom’s twin sister died in infancy. Her little brother died at 2 years old from bad ice cream while the family was visiting my Great Grandparents in MO.