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Maternal deaths in medieval sweden: an osteological and life table analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Ulf Högberg ,
Elisabeth Iregren ,
Claes-Henrik Siven  and
Lennart Diener
Ulf Högberg
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital of Umea
Elisabeth Iregren
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Lund
Claes-Henrik Siven
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Stockholm
Lennart Diener
Affiliation:
Tuberculosis Clinic of Stockholm
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Summary

In a medieval population of Stockholm only three cases of maternal deaths were proved out of 330 burials of adult females, and only in one of the cases was a contracted pelvis found. However, life table analysis indicates a shorter life expectancy of females in the reproductive ages. This suggests a higher maternal mortality in the Middle Ages than in the 18th and 19th centuries in Sweden.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , October 1987 , pp. 495 - 503
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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