Historical cause of death 1800s-1900s
What did puerperal convulsions mean on a death certificate?
On a death record, puerperal convulsions meant seizures striking a woman in late pregnancy or labour, feared as sudden and lethal. In modern terms it usually pointed to eclampsia. The mother's certificate and a same-week infant burial together tell the story; sometimes only the infant's record survives. Expect it on records mostly 1800s-1900s.
Also written on records as: childbed convulsions, convulsions of pregnancy.
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Related terms
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FAQs
What is puerperal convulsions called today?+
Eclampsia, broadly speaking. Doctors of the period diagnosed without laboratory tests, so one label often covered several conditions we would now separate. This page explains historical record language and is not medical advice.
How was puerperal convulsions written on death records?+
Clerks and doctors also wrote childbed convulsions and convulsions of pregnancy. Spelling wandered from register to register, so check every variant before you decide a record is missing or wrong.
Where do these definitions come from?+
They are drawn from period dictionaries, government archive glossaries, and standard genealogy references, cross-checked against each other; provenance is documented with the dataset. Inside AncestorIQ, Deep Research reads the record itself and explains terms like this in context, against your ancestor's own document.
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