Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 48 minutes ago
WAS DEATH IN CHILDBIRTH ACTUALLY COMMON for aristocratic women in England in the past? Some very famous women in English history have died as the result of pregnancy or childbirth, including Queen Elizabeth of York, Queen Jane Seymour, Queen Catherine Parr, Princess Charlotte of Wales and the author, Charlotte Bronte, but equally many women had huge numbers of children and lived to tell the tale, even if not all of their children did. See for example Queen Anne, Queen Caroline of Ansbach, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Queen Victoria. So what’s the deal here? Was childbirth really that dangerous, or have its risks been blown out of proportion by those who only focus on the stories that had tragic endings? In this medical history documentary from History Calling, we look at the history of childbirth including statistics for maternal mortality in the early modern period. I’ll also compare them to modern statistics covering England to try to get to the truth. We’ll discuss the question of why women died in childbirth or shortly afterwards and whether being rich actually put a woman at greater risk because she was more likely to face the intervention of early-modern doctors. Along the way I’ll tell you some of the stories of women who tragically passed away during or shortly after labour and others of women who survived many childbirths.
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Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
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YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
The woman who gave birth to rabbits
youtu.be/cNmjEpsFx88
The Queenship of Elizabeth of York
youtu.be/GMJezIv80cM
Death and funeral of Jane Seymour
youtu.be/N8e1qSS8EJA
Death and funeral of Catherine Parr
youtu.be/p6lPB4uzmwI
Catherine Parr’s missing baby
youtu.be/o2m74maNYIM
What happened to Queen Anne’s children?
youtu.be/qUc0wmJGTgg
Was Anne Boleyn executed whilst pregnant?
youtu.be/4ByDYXiijaE
The Royal Baby Race
youtu.be/d0HalC2yooM
Some sources:
Judith Lewis, ‘“Tis a Misfortune to Be a Great Ladie”: Maternal Mortality in the British Aristocracy, 1558-1959’ in Journal of British Studies 37 (1998), pp 26-53.
Modern UK maternal mortality rates
npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/data-brief/maternal-mortality-2020-2022
Time lapse of global maternal mortality rates, 1985-2020
ourworldindata.org/grapher/maternal-mortality-ratio-who-gho?time=2020
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Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
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Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
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Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
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The Tudors, season 1
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The Tudors, season 2
amzn.to/2VMPnHw
The Tudors, season 3
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The Tudors, season 4
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Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama)
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Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama)
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Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
#HistoryOfChildbirth #MaternalMortality #DeathInChildbirth #ChildbirthInHistory
WAS DEATH IN CHILDBIRTH ACTUALLY COMMON for aristocratic women in England in the past? Some very famous women in English history have died as the result of pregnancy or childbirth, including Queen Elizabeth of York, Queen Jane Seymour, Queen Catherine Parr, Princess Charlotte of Wales and the author, Charlotte Bronte, but equally many women had huge numbers of children and lived to tell the tale, even if not all of their children did. See for example Queen Anne, Queen Caroline of Ansbach, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Queen Victoria. So what’s the deal here? Was childbirth really that dangerous, or have its risks been blown out of proportion by those who only focus on the stories that had tragic endings? In this medical history documentary from History Calling, we look at the history of childbirth including statistics for maternal mortality in the early modern period. I’ll also compare them to modern statistics covering England to try to get to the truth. We’ll discuss the question of why women died in childbirth or shortly afterwards and whether being rich actually put a woman at greater risk because she was more likely to face the intervention of early-modern doctors. Along the way I’ll tell you some of the stories of women who tragically passed away during or shortly after labour and others of women who survived many childbirths.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
The woman who gave birth to rabbits
youtu.be/cNmjEpsFx88
The Queenship of Elizabeth of York
youtu.be/GMJezIv80cM
Death and funeral of Jane Seymour
youtu.be/N8e1qSS8EJA
Death and funeral of Catherine Parr
youtu.be/p6lPB4uzmwI
Catherine Parr’s missing baby
youtu.be/o2m74maNYIM
What happened to Queen Anne’s children?
youtu.be/qUc0wmJGTgg
Was Anne Boleyn executed whilst pregnant?
youtu.be/4ByDYXiijaE
The Royal Baby Race
youtu.be/d0HalC2yooM
Some sources:
Judith Lewis, ‘“Tis a Misfortune to Be a Great Ladie”: Maternal Mortality in the British Aristocracy, 1558-1959’ in Journal of British Studies 37 (1998), pp 26-53.
Modern UK maternal mortality rates
npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/data-brief/maternal-mortality-2020-2022
Time lapse of global maternal mortality rates, 1985-2020
ourworldindata.org/grapher/maternal-mortality-ratio-who-gho?time=2020
GET MORE:
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005)
amzn.to/3xLivgr
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/36IqD5r
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004)
amzn.to/3wImKIh
BUY OR RENT:
The Tudors, season 1
amzn.to/2VCwQ0j
The Tudors, season 2
amzn.to/2VMPnHw
The Tudors, season 3
amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4
amzn.to/3z16S58
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama)
amzn.to/3wH2mr2
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
#HistoryOfChildbirth #MaternalMortality #DeathInChildbirth #ChildbirthInHistory
