If you were a Victorian, what would you have died of?

[AhoyThereShipmates]

Reading a children’s book to my daughter that is partly set in a Victorian workhouse and it got me thinking.

I had a broken collarbone aged 9, and a pulmonary embolism, and then of course childbirth. If I was Victorian any of these might have killed me, but my money is on childbirth. DH reckons he would have been carted off to an asylum with unusual thoughts and would have just wasted away. Go on, indulge me.

If you were a Victorian, what would you have died of?

I would have died being born.

definitely childbirth. I had preeclampsia very badly, so I'd be a gonner.

Although did nearly die (was told I had only a few weeks to live)
Nhs had been treating me for anorexia and told me the pain I was in was psychosomatic and I was feeling the pain as punishment for eating and I needed to stop making the pain and not punish myself for eating them I would be well.

Only got the Barium meal test because I threatened the doctor. I knew I didn’t have long left so whatever I did didn’t matter as I would never live long enough to see any trial and if I did then it meant I was cured so it would be worth it.

It’s so random - a Great Aunt died in childbirth aged 20, with her 1st child in 1915 yet my Great Grandmother lived to 75 and gave birth to 8 live children between 1880 - 1893, she also outlived 3 husbands.

I'd still be going, actually.
DH might have been carried off by HIb pneumonia, before DC3-4 were conceived.
My mom would have died from an incomplete miscarriage in 1971, though.
My dad survived meningitis age 2, but pre antibiotic era, so I guess he'd have lived, too.
DC1 could have been done in by a peritonsillar abscess.
DC2-4 should still be with us if DH lived along to make his contribution to their existence.

Born at 32 weeks and lost over 1lb in weight, probably malnutrition.

Measles, had them when I was 5 (pre MMR) and was really poorly so no way I would have survived

The vapours

Childbirth. I had an emergency caesarean section.

I think I would still be alive. However my Mum would have died of ovarian cancer when I was six, my Dad of lung cancer when I was 16 and my sister would have died in childbirth.

Probably chronic tonsillitis as a child. Failing that impacted teeth. I has to get 4 out aged 12 as I don't have room.
My great aunt died of TB, so perhaps that would have got me first.

Easy, I have a terrible reaction to most insect bites so probably sepsis at a very early age.

Hodgkin's, aged 3

Meningitis

Probably one of the many times I had tonsillitis. Otherwise - as I’m ridiculously short sighted - probably would have fallen down a hole or into the path of an oncoming cart horse or similar

I may have died in a bad horse riding accident, but would definitely died of a brain tumour.

Definitely childbirth. I might have got through the first one but number two and me would definitely have died.

I’d probably have bled out of a miscarriage.
That’s if I’d survived being married off to my first boyfriend after falling pregnant as a teenager (although I suppose I might have been sent to the country a mother and baby home to have the child in secret then adopted).
If I’d made it through all that then my chronic health condition would have either meant I was considered one of those ‘delicate’ ladies, or become addicted to laudanum in lieu of modern painkillers, or fallen in to a pauper’s grave having been unable to work and feed myself.

Tonsillitis. I had it about every 3 weeks from 18 months to about 9 yrs. antibiotics every time but until they kicked in I’d be hallucinating my temperature was so high and I used to spit out my saliva my throat was so painful. My DM suffered with anxiety and was too worried to let me have my tonsils out. At least antibiotics were available though. Without them I’d have probably died of sepsis or quinsy or something.

I think that I may still be alive

I was born using forceps and I think they were around in Victorian times. As long my parents were able to ask the local doctor to come out I would have been OK.

I did catch measles as a child but I was fine with no complications.

However, we would have ended up in the workhouse as my parents ran up massive debts and lost their house. Maybe maybe my dad would have ended up in debtors prison. Maybe I would have been sent to live with grandparents or one of my mothers sisters?

I had forceps to deliver my first born but I would have been screwed if that didn’t work as the doctor wanted to go to immediate c-section.

Malaise

Own birth

Childbirth with first baby.

Was born at 33 weeks, so might not have got through that. If I then had my
dc both by emergency c section, so that would have been that.

Seemed to get loads of infections as a child...perforated ear drum, really bad tonsillitis/quinsy (off school for weeks) and a chest infection which caused a partially collapsed lung. Though to be fair, for most of those infections I didn't get antibiotics until I was very ill despite attending the doctors...our idiot doctor just used to refuse to prescribe antibiotics! 🤔 So maybe I would have just suffered for more weeks until I eventually fought it off naturally...who knows.

Kidney infection at 21 would have done me in though. Again, doctors refused to give me antibiotics until I was in a terrible state... However, I did feel a bit like a victorian on their death bed, sweating the fever out, drenching through the sheets and just unable to move from the pain.

I think the moral of the story is to lay it on thick if you know you are definitely in need of antibiotics. I think I tend to act quite chipper and smiley (despite feeling like shit) and people think "oh she's alright, go take a paracetamol". 🙄